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OKANOGAN, Wash. – Many towns remained under an evacuation order as raging wildfires continued their advance through Okanogan County Friday evening and Saturday morning.
Evacuees and residents impacted by the fire are advised to shelter at Brewster Middle/High School in Brewster (503 S. 7th Street). Questions should be directed to the local Red Cross at (509) 670-5331. Cats and dogs are able to stay at the WASART shelter nearby. Free camping and showers for evacuees are also available at Okanogan Legion Park, 999 2nd Avenue N in Okanogan.
Officials say a failure at a Malott utility substation is causing power outages to Malott, Twisp and Winthrop. The Loup Transmission Line from Carlton to Twisp and Twisp to Mazama is also impacted. The earliest estimate for restoration is Saturday.
Obama signs emergency declaration for Washington wildfires
Earlier Friday, Pres. Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration, ordering federal aid to assist in battling Washington state's wildfires.
The White House says the declaration allows FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts. The order specifically covers Asotin, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Klickitat, Okanogan, Pend Orielle, Skamania, Spokane, Stevens, and Yakima counties. It also brings aid to the Colville, Spokane, Kalispel, and Yakima tribes.
The news comes none too soon as firefighting resources are being stretched thin. National guard soldiers were headed to the fire lines Friday and, for the first time in state history, volunteers are being asked to fight the fires. Washington officials say more than 3,000 people have called and emailed in response to the state's request for volunteer help with wildfires.
There were 820 firefighters fighting the blazes Friday, many working round-the-clock.
"They're tired. They're working long hours. They're not getting sleep. They're getting chased from one house to another but they're giving it their best. They're doing a great job," said Todd Pechota, incident commander.
He also made it clear that firefighter safety is a top priority. It's top of mind after three firefighters were killed and four were injured Wednesday. Officials on Friday released more details about the events leading up to their deaths.
"I am not going to get somebody hurt or killed protecting stuff,'" said Pechota.
Volunteers began showing up overnight, equipment at the ready, to hit the fire lines.
"I've had experience with equipment, tankers, water trucks," said one volunteer. "It's just something I feel I need to do. To this, it's just like we're being invaded and it's time to step and do what needs to be done."
But not all the volunteers who show up will be able to help. They need to meet certain qualifications.
Officials: 'No idea' how many homes lost
The Okanogan Complex consists of five wildfires that are burning in north-central Washington. More than 5,100 homes are threatened. The out-of-control blazes have destroyed buildings, but the situation is so chaotic that authorities have "no idea" how many homes may have been lost.
Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said Friday that "we have lost them, but I don't know how many."
The complex of fires that killed three firefighters near Twisp earlier this week has blown up, growing more than 100 square miles in a day to 252 square miles by Friday morning. That's larger than the cities of Seattle and Tacoma combined.
Parts of the town of Okanogan and all of Tonasket were evacuated overnight Thursday into Friday. Evacuations in Tonasket were reduced later Friday morning, as well as in Twisp. Residents of those towns can return to their homes but were warned to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.
Emergency response leaders are urging residents who have not been evacuated to stay off the roads. They say driving conditions are dangerous.
"Stay inside. There's no reason to be outside," said Todd Magliocca, section chief for Okanogan Emergency Operations Center. "That keeps them close to the radio. That keeps them close to their computers and that keeps them updated so when a Level 3 is given, they're getting it in a timely manner."
Magliocca stressed that staying connected is important because conditions can change dramatically in a matter of minutes.
Social media has been key for emergency managers to get the word out quickly this week. A common phrase seen on many posts regarding evacuations is "Do not wait for door-to-door notification."
Okanogan County officials say there are several ways to stay up-to-date:
- If you have general fire emergency questions, call 509-422-7348. For Spanish speakers, call 509-422-2422 or check their Spanish language Facebook page.
- Follow updates on Twitter at @okanogandem.
- Sign-up for the Okanogan County Citizen Emergency Alert System.
The Reach Fire, also known as the Chelan Complex Fire is almost the size of Seattle and about 50 percent contained. Containment levels have not increased since Wednesday. At least 84 structures have burned in that fire.
A Red Flag Warning remains in effect until 11 p.m. Friday due to critical fire weather conditions. The forecast calls for highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. There will be gusty winds up to 40 mph which will decrease midday but increase in the late afternoon.
State Route 20 was closed Friday evening in both directions from milepost 206, five miles east of Twisp, to milepost 224, nine miles west of Okanogan. There was no detour available. State Route 20 was also closed from Tonasket to milepost 274 at Aeneas Valley Road.
State route and road closures in the area are in flux. Find the latest road closures information on Twitter at @okanogandemand@wsdot_east.