Washington state wildfire destroys at least 23 homes

SLEEPY HOLLOW FIRE HAS SCORCHED 3,000 HECTARES OF ROLLING GRASSLANDS

Awildfire burning unchecked in Washington state has destroyed at least 23 homes and three commercial buildings near the eastern foothills of the Cascades, state police and emergency management officials said on Monday.

The so-called Sleepy Hollow fire has scorched an estimated 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) of rolling grasslands and brush in and around Wenatchee in central Washington since it erupted on Sunday, said state patrol spokesman Darren Wright.

A couple of firefighters suffered minor injuries, Wright said.

Overnight showers

He said several hundred homes remained under evacuation orders on Monday, as firefighters scrambled to take advantage of heavy overnight showers that slowed the fire’s advance. Crews have yet to establish containment lines around the blaze.

“We had a couple of pretty good rain storms that knocked it down a bit for us,” Wright said, adding the blaze could flare up again with triple-digit temperatures and low humidity forecast for the coming days.

Hot, dry winds fanned the flames through drought-parched vegetation as the fire zone “blew up” late on Sunday, growing from 200 acres (80 hectares) at about 6pm to 15 times that size overnight, said Janet Pearce, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

Wright said at least 23 homes west of Wenatchee had burnt, and embers blown into town set ablaze and destroyed a recycling centre and two adjoining buildings of a fruit-packing storage facility.

A thick, black plume from the three burning buildings drifted over Wenatchee, as well as a haze of lighter smoke.

The cause of the blaze has not been determined, but it followed a large number of lightning strikes in the region, Pearce said.

With the approaching Fourth of July holiday, state officials were asking residents to avoid using personal fireworks, and a ban on outdoor fires was imposed for state-owned parks and forests. Washington experienced its worst wildfire season on record last year.

Saving what they can Bill Reed goes through the toolkit in what had been his garage as his daughter Erin searches through the rubble. Reed’s home was among those destroyed by the wildfire in Washington.