Smoke from the Chiwaukum Creek Fire is shown from the window of an airplane flying near Leavenworth, Wash., Thursday, July 17, 2014.
Pateros, Washington:
A massive wildfire that has destroyed at least 100 homes forced the residents of a second Washington town to leave their homes Friday, and prompted a partial evacuation of a third community in a scenic valley, a sheriff said.
No injuries have been reported, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said Friday night. Those living in outlying areas of Brewster were also told to leave. He said he knew the damage toll has grown but he didn't have an updated number.
"We know we've lost more homes," he said.
Malott is home to about 500 people, while the population of Brewster is about 2,400.
The hospital in Brewster was evacuated late Thursday. Outlying residents were told to leave on Friday, Rogers said, because "the fire is just kind of picking up and blowing down toward Brewster." Smoke in the town on Friday was so thick it nearly obscured the Columbia River from adjacent highways. The smoke extended all the way to Spokane, 150 miles (24 kilometers) to the east.
Fire swept through the town of Pateros on Thursday, leaving its 650 residents to return to large areas of smoldering rubble.
Officials said Friday the fire known as the Carlton Complex has blackened more than 260 square miles (670 square kilometers) and continues to grow. That size estimate was up dramatically from the prior estimate of 28 square miles (72 square kilometers).
Friday's dawn revealed dramatic devastation in Pateros, including solitary brick chimneys and burned-out automobiles. Most residents evacuated in advance of the flames, and some returned Friday to see what, if anything, was left of their houses.
The pavement of U.S. Highway 97 stopped the advance of some of the flames, protecting parts of the town.
Firefighters poured water over the remnants of homes Friday morning, raising clouds of smoke, steam and dust. Two big water towers perched just above the town were singed black. Ash fell like snowflakes.
The fire consumed utility poles from two major power lines, knocking out power to Pateros as well as the towns of Winthrop and Twisp to the north.
Sheriff Rogers said earlier his team counted 30 houses and trailers destroyed in Pateros, another 40 in a community just outside the town at Alta Lake, and about 25 homes destroyed elsewhere in the county of about 40,000 people.
No injuries have been reported, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said Friday night. Those living in outlying areas of Brewster were also told to leave. He said he knew the damage toll has grown but he didn't have an updated number.
"We know we've lost more homes," he said.
Malott is home to about 500 people, while the population of Brewster is about 2,400.
The hospital in Brewster was evacuated late Thursday. Outlying residents were told to leave on Friday, Rogers said, because "the fire is just kind of picking up and blowing down toward Brewster." Smoke in the town on Friday was so thick it nearly obscured the Columbia River from adjacent highways. The smoke extended all the way to Spokane, 150 miles (24 kilometers) to the east.
Fire swept through the town of Pateros on Thursday, leaving its 650 residents to return to large areas of smoldering rubble.
Officials said Friday the fire known as the Carlton Complex has blackened more than 260 square miles (670 square kilometers) and continues to grow. That size estimate was up dramatically from the prior estimate of 28 square miles (72 square kilometers).
Friday's dawn revealed dramatic devastation in Pateros, including solitary brick chimneys and burned-out automobiles. Most residents evacuated in advance of the flames, and some returned Friday to see what, if anything, was left of their houses.
The pavement of U.S. Highway 97 stopped the advance of some of the flames, protecting parts of the town.
Firefighters poured water over the remnants of homes Friday morning, raising clouds of smoke, steam and dust. Two big water towers perched just above the town were singed black. Ash fell like snowflakes.
The fire consumed utility poles from two major power lines, knocking out power to Pateros as well as the towns of Winthrop and Twisp to the north.
Sheriff Rogers said earlier his team counted 30 houses and trailers destroyed in Pateros, another 40 in a community just outside the town at Alta Lake, and about 25 homes destroyed elsewhere in the county of about 40,000 people.
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