Wildfires across northeast Washington continue to grow without any containment as temperatures soar.
The Northwest 12 Complex Incident Management Team took over Northeast Washington Incident Management Team 1 Tuesday morning to help contain three wildfires located near Northport, Marble and Onion Creek areas.
Heather Appelhof, public information officer with the Northwest 12 team, said as of Tuesday afternoon that the Crown Creek fire had nearly tripled in size over the last couple of days to an estimated 3,193 acres; the Blackhawk Mountain fire, northwest of Crown Creek, is an estimated 373 acres; and the Katy Creek fire is an estimated 340 acres.
Level 3, "go," evacuations have expanded near the Crown Creek fire to the south of Hawk's Road. Level 1, "ready," evacuations south of Hawk's road are also now Level 2, "get set," as of Tuesday afternoon.
"Ferry County has a Level 1 evacuation between Nancy Creek and Deadman Creek due to the Katy Creek Fire. And then in Stevens County, there is an interactive evacuation map that is being updated regularly now," Appelhof said.
Appelhof said many residents have evacuated their homes, with no current reports of damaged or destroyed structures.
She added that the Crown Creek fire and the Katy Creek fire have been the most active, mainly because ofthe high temperatures.
"We are under a heat advisory, so the temperatures have been very hot, and we're also getting a little bit more ventilation to the fire today, just because of the conditions in the atmosphere. So anytime you have more ventilation, you get more oxygen on that fire," Appelhof said.
Another lightning storm on Sunday night ignited a fire near Cusick.
Mike Bucy, fire chief of Stevens County Fire District 1, said the fire is about 12 miles from Cusick, located on top of a mountain ridge that straddles the county line between Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.
It grew from 50 to 200 acres since Sunday night, said Bucy, who's also part of the Type 3 Incident Management Team.
Because of limited resources, Bucy said it's been hard to control all the fires in the area despite both air and ground support.
"A lot of these were lightning caused; they're not human caused, but we still need people to be both vigilant and looking for new fire starts," he said. "Lightning strikes may not show themselves for 7 to 10 days. Everybody's got to be careful. The area cannot afford to have any new starts."
Appelhof suggests residents check their Facebook pages for regular updates on the fires. A shelter has also been set up at the American Legion Post 146 at 1057 Hwy 395 N, Kettle Falls.
"Even people who are in a Level 1 or a Level 2 still need to be alert that when fire becomes more active," Appelhof said.
