Washington wildfires grow in size; Obama signs emergency declaration

President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration authorizing federal help for the massive wildfires burning out of control in Washington state.

Obama on Friday declared an emergency and authorized the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts.

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The order covers 11 counties in central and eastern Washington as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation.

The wildfires have not ceased in their relentless threat against communities as they burned overnight, devouring the landscape.

“Imagine if we had massive fires burning in Seattle, and at the same time Tacoma, and then Snoqualmie Pass, and throw in Stevens Pass as well, and try to get 1,000 firefighters to battle all of those. That is the scale we are dealing with here,” said KIRO Radio Reporter Josh Kerns from the town of Twisp, which was evacuated this week as wildfires approached.

The complex of fires grew more than 100 square miles in a single day, creating a situation too chaotic to even track how many homes had burned.

“We have lost them, but I don’t know how many,” Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said. “We’ve got no idea.”

As conditions worsened, emergency officials ordered evacuations in Okanogan, with 2,500 residents, as well as Tonasket, a community of 1,000 people, and its surrounding area.

Evacuations

Residents of Okanogan are the latest community to be forced from their homes as fires approached.

The town was awakened at 2 a.m. by the Okanogan County Emergency Management department and told to immediately evacuate the area.

Photos: Firefighters battle Washington blazes

“It would be prudent to leave. This is no time for heroics,” said fire spokesman Dan Omdal. “I think it would be wise to heed the warnings that emergency management is sharing with folks.”

The wildfires have threatened communities all along Highway 97. Residents of Omak, near Okanogan, are also being asked to evacuate.

Half an hour up the road, the town of Tonasket, with 1,000 people, was also told to evacuated late Thursday evening.

People have been told to head south to seek shelter at Brewster High School, near the Columbia River.

Help wanted

About 3,000 firefighters are battling the large blazes across the state, but it’s not enough.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources is asking for citizens to volunteer their time and equipment to fight the fires. It’s the first time in state history the agency has put the call out to residents.

“If people want to help, we’d like them to contact our coordinators so we can work on getting them safely and appropriately involved,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark.

The type of credentials that would be considered appropriate for a volunteer include “Red Card” firefighters and “Blue Card” equipment operators.

Training will be available for people not currently qualified to work on the fire line.

Centers are being established in two strategic locations:

OMAK – Email Jay Guthrie: CRC.Omak@gmail.com or call 360-826-2546

COLVILLE – Email Julie Sacket: CRC.Colville@gmail.com or call 509-675-7847

Chelan

Further south in Chelan, wildfires remain a constant threat despite days of firefighters’ efforts. The fire has charred 100-square-miles of land and is 50 percent contained.

“We still show those as threatened communities,” said Wayne Patterson. “The fire lines that are above them on that 820 road are still continuous, especially if we get those east winds going.”

As expected, the wildfires were getting a boost from strong winds roaring through the region Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. The winds, reaching 40 miles per hour, helped the flames devour vegetation, dry from the state’s drought this season.

Those gusts are likely to continue agitating the fires through Friday. Winds are expected to peak in the late morning, and blow all day.

“It’s not going to be a good day for firefighters, essentially,” said Paul Bos with the National Weather Service. “We do not, at this time, want strong winds. And it’s going to be very dry, and very windy which helps spread that fire and start new fires.”

The town of Twisp has quieted down since it was told to evacuate Wednesday, but not before claiming the lives of three firefighters, and critically injuring another.

“Firefighters battled flames and high winds Wednesday, from Twisp all the way to Winthrop, where the Sun Mountain Lodge is,” KIRO Radio Reporter Josh Kerns said. “They’ve gotten a handle on it, at least close to town. What has happened is those winds that blew to the east, shifted everything over into the area of Okanogan and Tonasket.”

“You could just see, all of a sudden, the wind shift, and the next thing you knew all to the east in Omak and Okanogan things just blew up,” he said. “It looked like somebody was setting off bombs of smoke.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.