A wildfire outside Wenatchee has destroyed at least 24 homes and burned 3000 acres. The worst-affected areas are still off-limits. But many of those who evacuated Sunday night are starting to return home and assess the damage.
Phil Heideman is coming home with his horses in tow after a late night evacuation. He lost some fences, and a neighbor’s barn burnt down. But he says Sleepy Hollow got lucky. Irrigated cherry orchards and grape vines spared the neighborhood the brunt of the fire.
HEIDEMAN: You can see the big trees that burnt by Dr. Zane’s place…their grapes on the south side of them actually saved their house. Because if all that would have been fuel, their house would be gone.
Just over the hill, in Broadview, homeowners returned to a neighborhood where many homes have been reduced to ash. In downtown Wenatchee, firefighters are still working to contain a warehouse fire sparked by debris from the brushfire.
