Fire near Leavenworth grows; 27 homes evacuated
Aug 21, 2013, 8:15 AM | Updated: 8:26 am
The Eagle Fire near Leavenworth has grown to 1,500 acres. (Image courtesy Chelan County Emergency Management/Cody Rohrbach)
(Image courtesy Chelan County Emergency Management/Cody Rohrbach)
A wildfire just a few miles outside of Leavenworth has more than tripled in size since Tuesday and is creeping closer to dozens of homes.
Twenty-seven homes are under a mandatory evacuation order. Forty more homes are under a level 2, recommended evacuation, due to the fire that has grown to nearly 1,500 acres.
Robin DeMario with the Forest Service says the fire is about four and a half miles outside of the town of Leavenworth, and is top priority for fire crews in Washington.
“This is the number one priority here in the region, this fire, so the region has made resources available to send to us,” says DeMario.
They have 300 personnel battling the flames that started on a ridge top and have slowly been creeping down toward the road.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, says DeMario.
“It started on Monday. It is still under investigation,” says DeMario. “Because it started near the top of the ridge in an accessible spot, lightning may have played a part.”
