WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Dry weather and gusty winds over the weekend also helped fan the flames of wildfires from the North Cascades to Lake Chelan.
Frontline Wildfire reports that the Kaiser Canyon Fire remains the state’s largest, having burned over 136,000 acres on the Colville Reservation since July 16.
Level 3 evacuations were issued for residents living near the Modrite Fire, which has burned over 51,000 acres west of the Columbia River in Ferry County.
In Okanogan County, the Sinlahekin Fire has grown to over 73,000 acres, leading to evacuation orders in the towns of Loomis and Tonasket.
In the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, the Little Giant Fire has burned nearly 60,000 acres and has jumped across Lake Chelan.
And a handful of rural wildfires continue to spread in the North Cascades, including the 14,000-acre Ptarmigan Fire and the 5,000-acre Border 2 fire.
Spokane saw some of the worst impacts of the flames as hundreds of structures burned and roughly 400 people are staying in the city’s convention center as of Sunday, Aug. 2.
On Saturday, Aug. 1, Gov. Bob Ferguson issued a statewide burn ban after declaring a wildfire emergency. The statewide burn ban does not supersede current bans in place locally.
