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WA Fire Crews Hope Weather Brings Aid

Fire crews continue to battle several major fires in Washington state, but are hopeful changes in the weather may come to their aid, at least for a while. Several fires are burning in the state, with the Carlton Complex, the state's largest in history, now at 250,000 acres.

But cooler temperatures overnight and increased humidity have helped firefighters achieve 16 percent containment there. Janet Pierce, the communications manager for the Department of Natural Resources, says a prediction for rain in the region today is also good news.

Pierce: "However, there is lightning coming with that scattered thunderstorm, so we'll have to keep an eye on that. We're hopeful the rain will keep dousing out what the lightening causes."

The temperatures are expected to get back into the 90's by next week. Good progress has been made on the Watermelon Hill fire near Cheney and the Mills Canyon Fire, near the town of Leavenworth. Both are 90 percent contained today.

Steve was part of the Spokane Public Radio family for many years before he came on air in 1999. His wife, Laurie, produced Radio Ethiopia in the late 1980s through the '90s, and Steve used to “lurk in the shadowy world” of Weekend SPR. Steve has done various on air shifts at the station, including nearly 15 years as the local Morning Edition host. Currently, he is the voice of local weather and news during All Things Considerd, writing, editing, producing and/or delivering newscasts and features for both KPBX and KSFC. Aside from SPR, Steve ,who lives in the country, enjoys gardening, chickens, playing and listening to music, astronomy, photography, sports cars and camping.
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