Northwest burns as fire season extends

WENATCHEE, Wash. — A haze of thick smoke formed Tuesday over vast swaths of the West as wildfires forced more residents to flee their homes in several states.

Fire officials reported seven homes were destroyed and hundreds of people were evacuated near Casper, Wyo., where a wildfire has burned across almost 24 square miles. In western Montana, fire crews said there was no containment in sight for a blaze that has prompted an evacuation order for 400 houses west of Hamilton.

With winds dying down, fire crews in eastern Washington were hopeful they could gain ground on dozens of fires sparked by weekend lightning storms. But more evacuation orders were issued Tuesday as a wildfire continued to move in the hills west of Wenatchee, a fruit capital on the banks of the Columbia River.

More than 150 homes were evacuated due to the fire burning about 140 miles east of Seattle.

About 160 firefighters from across the state gathered to help fight the blaze, which covered 1,000 acres. Resident Shannon Grosdidier and her four daughters delivered oatmeal cookies to several stationed at the end of her street Monday night.

“The wind has died down, which is good,” she said. “But I’ve got the photo albums in the car and our overnight bags packed.”

Only a shed has been lost near Wenatchee, and no injuries have been reported in numerous fires sparked by lightning Saturday.

In Montana, Sawtooth Fire spokesman Gregg DeNitto with the U.S. Forest Service said there was no word on when residents might be allowed to return. The fire exploded from just over 1 square mile to more than 6; no houses were reported lost.

DeNitto said most threatened houses were still a half-mile to a mile from the fire’s edge. An estimated 1,000 people live within the evacuated area, although Ravalli County Commissioner Suzy Foss said not all of them left.