250 homes evacuated as Yakima County wildfire grows to 12,900 acres

Roughly 250 homes have been evacuated near Yakima County, as a wildfire moving through Evans Canyon has now grown to almost 13,000 acres.

The fire — which began Monday morning near Naches — grew overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, and containment remains at 0% as crews work to battle the blaze. It crossed the county line between Yakima County and Kittitas on Tuesday, with smoke visible from Ellensburg.

Firefighters have been focused on “point protection,” pushing the fire around houses, radio towers, and power lines, and “saving as many houses as we can,” according to the incident management team’s public information officer Ben Shearer.

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High winds have proven problematic since the fire first took hold.

“It’s been a wind event since the beginning of it — they knew right away it was going to be a problem,” Shearer told KIRO Radio. “The heat of the fire moving through that canyon changes those winds; it’s a constantly changing and evolving fire.”

As of Wednesday morning, “a few cars and motor homes” have been lost to the fire, with “a couple” homes damaged.

The fire was reportedly moving southeast toward Selah as of Tuesday night. Level 3 evacuations are in place for much of the area, with some taking effect across the county line into Kittitas as well.

Latest Evans Canyon Evacuation notices as of 6:10 pm. Some Level 3 evacuations go into Kittitas Co. https://t.co/TGO0Xh6c7b pic.twitter.com/IhLslYa0vh

— Yakima OEM (@YakimaOEM) September 2, 2020

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