Washington State Declares Fire Emergency

Gov. Christine Gregoire declared a wildfire emergency in Washington state Thursday as firefighters scrambled to keep up with new lightning-sparked fires while battling half a dozen large blazes already burning in the eastern part of the state.

More thunderstorms with lightning were forecast for today, raising fears that fire crews could be stretched even more if new fires start.

Fire officials were most concerned about a blaze northeast of Davenport and west of Spokane that forced the evacuation of about 20 homes. The Harker Canyon fire, estimated at about 1,500 acres Thursday, was believed to have been started by a spark from a wheat truck the day before.

Southwest winds predicted for the area could push the fire into residences, said Brock Shero of the state Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s getting to the critical time where I’m getting apprehensive,” he said.

About 200 firefighters were at the scene.

The largest blaze in the state, the 42,000-acre School fire in southeastern Washington near Pomeroy, was 40% contained but was burning south toward cabins in Umatilla National Forest, said John Townsley of the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.

Federal officials said the fire had burned 49 residences and 38 outbuildings, with more charred areas to be checked. About 100 homes -- some full-time homes and some seasonal cabins -- remained evacuated.

About 1,400 firefighters were assigned to the fire. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

Gregoire ordered state agencies to contribute to firefighting efforts and announced that she had alerted the National Guard for possible call-up if crews needed help.

“We’re facing a siege of wildfires across our state,” she told reporters at the Capitol as she signed the proclamation. “There is a significant potential for us to continue to have large fires erupting on both sides of the state.”

Northwest of the School fire, crews fought a 4,000-acre fire about 20 miles northeast of Richland. A sudden wind shift pushed the McClane fire in a new direction Wednesday night, damaging the fire camp. The fire had burned onto the Hanford Reach National Monument north of the Columbia River and was about 40% contained Thursday.

The National Interagency Fire Center said 33 large fires totaling 222,510 acres were burning in nine states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon and Washington. So far this year, wildfires have charred 5.5 million acres nationwide, compared with 5.6 million acres at the same time last year.