Washington wildfire grows to become largest in state’s history

Local officials reported that the smoke that plagued the area has started to subside, but the people’s fear of unhealthy air and surroundings, as well as the perception that new fires could spread, took the attention of the officials.

The fire showed no mercy to dozens of cars, two barns, a bus, a trailer and many other items on his property. But Saturday’s rainfall, if the weather system goes according to plan, could be steady and widespread instead of hit-and-miss showers and thunderstorms.

That combined damage makes the current fires “certainly the most severe in terms of timing of multiple large fires simultaneously”, Jaime Smith, the governor s spokeswoman, told AFP Monday.

Again, it’s still several days out and forecast models can change their tune, but the trend is promising.

The US Forest Service said the fire near Snow Summit Ski Resort south of Big Bear Lake has forced evacuation orders for about 400 homes, many of them cabins and vacation houses.

“We were pretty socked in with smoke, but that made for some very aggressive firefighting”, said Nick Cronquist, spokesman for crews at Kettle Complex, said late Monday.

The massive fire burning in north-central Washington is now the largest in state history.

The province has spent $233 million fighting 1,753 fires so far this year.

So many fires are burning within the state that managers are taking excessive measures, summoning assist from Down Underneath and 200 US troops from an base in Tacoma within the first such use of active-duty troopers in 9 years. The last time the U.S. asked for their help was 2008, with 50 firefighters arriving. About 70 firefighters arrived in Boise, Idaho, on Monday and were scheduled to receive protective gear before heading out to fight fires burning in the West. This fire includes the Twisp River fire, which killed three firefighters and injured four others last Wednesday, forcing an evacuation of 4,000 households in the towns of Twisp and Withrop about 30 miles west from Okanogan in the foothills of the Cascades.

However, he says the haze may prevent firefighters from seeing new blazes.

Arnol stated the firefighters might be prepared for the mountainous terrain within the Pacific Northwest. “They are working on the northeast side of the fire which is the closest to the border”.

“We’re used to tall timber and steep territory”, he said.

Wildfires have been raging in the western states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California forcing thousands of residents from their homes.