Thousands of acres burning in Washington state
WENATCHEE - Firefighters are battling wildfires burning thousands of acres across Washington State.
The fire burning near Mount Si in the North Bend area has grown to more than 18 acres, Seth Barnes with Washington State Department of Natural Rescources said. About 50 firefighters and one helicopter are fighting a fire that was reported on Friday afternoon and is moving up the mountain. So far, no homes have been burned and there have been no evacuations, but the fire has closed the popular Mount Si hiking trails.
Near Wenatchee, the Colockum Tarps fire has grown to about 4,000 acres. The fire is burning in grass and scrub brush in rocky terrain and so far, two structures have been burned, according to Chelan County Fire District's Rick Isaacson.
There is a Level 3 evacuation order in effect. More than 100 firefighters are fighting this fire, which has been fueled by winds. Two firefighters have suffered minor injuries.
The largest fire that's currently burning is the Mile Mark 28 fire, that's burned more than 17,000 acres near Goldendale. The fire is burning in grass, shrub brush, timber litter and the smoke from the fire has forced the Washington State Department of Transportation to close Highway 97 between Goldendale and Toppenish. No structures have burned and there has been only one minor injury to a firefighter, a spokesperson at the Incident Command center in Goldendale reported.