OKANOGAN, Wash. (AP) — The Okanogan Complex of wildfires, the largest in state history, has so far consumed at least 40 homes and 40 outbuildings.
That's according to Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers on Wednesday.
Rogers says county officials are still tallying up the structure losses from a fire that has consumed nearly 438 square miles and last week killed three firefighters.
The complex was about 17 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. Rogers says the weather forecast for highs in the 70s and possible rain in coming days is good news for firefighters.
Sixteen Australian firefighters who have arrived in the U.S. to help battle Western blazes will be assigned to the north-central Washington fire on Thursday. Fire spokesman Rick Isaacson says they are mid-level fire managers who will mostly work in support functions, although some may run bulldozers.
So many fires are burning in Washington that managers are taking extreme measures, summoning help from abroad and 200 U.S. troops from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the first such use of active-duty soldiers in nine years.
Isaacson says the Australians have similar training programs to U.S. firefighters and he doesn’t expect them to have any trouble blending in.
Last week, three firefighters were killed and four injured near Twisp. Daniel Lyon, the lone injured firefighter who remains in the hospital, is still listed in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center, officials said Tuesday.
The memorial service for three firefighters who died will be Sunday in Wenatchee.
Officials say the service will begin at 1 p.m. at the Toyota Center in the central Washington city. Tom Zbyszewski, 20, Richard Wheeler, 31, and Andrew Zajac, 26, died when their truck crashed as they tried to escape the fast-growing wildfire and flames consumed their vehicle. All three lived in north-central Washington.