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Forest fires force compulsory evacuation of the town of Nespelem
Several wildfires in north-central Washington state triggered an evacuation order for the town of Nespelem and the state’s Department of Natural Resources said there had been power outages in the region.
NESPELEM, Lavis. – An evacuation order was issued for the town of Nespelem on the Colville Indian Reservation on Tuesday as fire crews tackle aggressive wildfires in Okanogan County.
“It looked like lava, I mean it was scary. We had a fire last year, but it was nothing like what it was here and it happened so fast. say in 10 to 15 minutes the winds were crazy, â€said Faith Zacherle of the nonprofit River Warrior Society.
A spokesperson for the Confederate Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation said 11,000 acres burned Tuesday night. Containment remained at zero with critical weather conditions for the fires expected on Wednesday.
The state’s Natural Resources Department said there had been power outages in the area and phone lines were down.
Nespelem, Buffalo Lake, Cache Creek and surrounding areas were all subject to mandatory evacuation notices, according to Okanogan County Emergency Management. State Route 155 was open for people to exit. Authorities don’t want people waiting for door-to-door notifications, KXLY-TV reported.
As of Tuesday morning, seven structures, including three houses, had been lost. Seven addictions were also lost, KXLY-TV reported. There is no estimate of the number of hectares burned by the fires, which could have been caused by lightning strikes in the region on Monday evening.
A refuge is set up by the Red Cross at the gymnasium of the primary school of Grand Coulee.
MORE: Smoke and extreme heat is a tough test for West Coast wineries
Additionally, the state’s Department of Transportation reminds drivers that SR 20 west of Winthrop remains closed for fires and that there is no estimate for reopening.
“To be clear: there is no way around the closure. It is closed for security reasons. There is no access. Please stay away from the point of closure,” wrote Tuesday the department on Twitter in response to people showing up hoping to get a way to get by.
The highway, which is popular with tourists during the summer months, will likely remain closed over the weekend as dry and gusty winds are expected in the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
And in the southeast, where the state’s largest fire is burning, nearly 700 firefighters continue to fight the Lick Creek blaze in Asotin County. As of Tuesday morning, 58,000 acres had been burned and the blaze 20% contained.
Heat wave in the western states
High temperatures fueling forest fires and 18 million people on heat alert Monday. This is the third heat wave since early June. Meteorologists say heat is due to high pressure dome affecting residents of Washington, Oregon and California
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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