A fire that started Saturday morning near Wenatchee, Wash., has now burned more than 60 square miles in rugged terrain. The fire has burned five homes and the residents of another 60 have been told to evacuate. It's one of nearly two-dozen major fires now burning across the Northwest.
Forecasters predicted a higher-than-normal fire season this year in parts of the region.
In southern Oregon, Governor John Kitzhaber authorized bringing in structural firefighters to protect homes threatened by a largecomplex of fires.
In south central Washington, the Klickitat County Sheriff has instructed residents in the path of a fire near Goldendale to pack up their valuables, their family heirlooms and prepare to find lodging.
Several forest fires in Idaho have reached 10,000 acres, including theLodgepole Fire near Challis. Pete Nelson owns a charter flight business in Challis that takes tourists into the backcountry. But for the last several years he's had to scale back because of the fires.
“For those businesses like myself that it affects negatively, we're getting pretty weary of it,” Nelson says.
Fire officials are asking people to be careful about their lawn mowers, campfires and cigarettes – as well as what they might be dragging from their vehicles. A truck dragging chain link fencing near Boise ignited 19 small fires over the weekend.