Published: August 17,2015
There are currently approximately 95 large wildfires spread over about 1.1 million acres in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada, and Colorado, and weather and fuel conditions are predicted to continue to be conducive to wildfire ignitions and spread for the next several weeks.
The DOD has approved the request and identified the 17th Field Artillery Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Army located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Washington to provide the manpower.
The unit will provide 200 soldiers organized into ten crews of 20, which will spend three days training before being assigned to a fire. Though it is unknown which area the units will be assigned to, the NIFC has indicated that they will all be assigned to the same fire.
Here is an update on some of the approximately 95 fires burning throughout the West.
Washington
Several wildfires near the resort town of Chelan, Washington are 30 percent contained as of Monday evening, reports the Chelan County Sheriff. Hundreds of homes remain evacuated, however, and crews are worried that the flames are getting closer to more residences.The wildfires have already burned more than 155 square miles in central Washington, pushing some 1,500 people from their homes.
(MORE: Why You Need a Severe Weather Plan for Outdoor Events)
Patterson said air tankers have established lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan. Helicopters have been dipping into Lake Chelan to pull up water to battle blazes north of the lake.
"There were literally people on the beaches near that lake in their swim wear out on the lake right near it," Patterson told the Associated Press.
Idaho
The Idaho County Sheriff's Department said a 70-year-old woman died Friday while preparing to flee one of several wildfires burning in the parched Western states.Cheryl Lee Wissler of Adams Grade died Friday from a head injury she sustained when she fell, authorities said. She was attempting to evacuate as a wildfire quickly expanded east of Lewiston.
(MORE: Multi-Day Severe Weather Threat Ahead)
An estimated 42 homes and 79 other structures were lost to the blaze, the sheriff's department said. The fire is surrounding the small town of Kamiah, about 60 miles east of Lewiston, and burned to the edge of Clearwater River, directly across the water from downtown.
More than 750 people were assigned to fight several fires that together have charred more than 50 square miles in the area near Kamiah.
Wind patterns near Kamiah were expected to slow down slightly on Monday, giving firefighters a break from the previously constant 25-mph gusts that pushed the fire dangerously close to homes, said Ryan Greendeer, a spokesman for the Clearwater Complex fire.
The region was already struggling after severe drought damaged wheat harvests, with farmers watching as their normally plump wheat kernels grew pinched and stunted from the lack of water. Though most of the wheat had been cut before the fires started, bone-dry stubble still covers the prairie and the forests surrounding Kamiah are parched.
California
Light winds helped crews increase containment of a wildfire that destroyed several cabins and charred nearly 2-and-a-half square miles of forest near Los Angeles.Officials revised the size of the fire downward after previous estimates put it at nearly 4 square miles.
The blaze in the Angeles National Forest above the suburbs of Glendora and Azusa was 20 percent contained and holding steady Sunday.
Six campgrounds remained evacuated around the fire that burned four cabins and an outbuilding when it broke out on Friday.
Ten firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration and minor injuries.
(MORE: Eye-Opening Numbers Reveal California's Intense Battle with Dangerous 2015 Fire Season)
Emergency Operations Bur. sheriff deputies respond to #CabinFire Friday ICYMI Los Angeles County Sheriff #LASD
Meanwhile, a brush fire started near a riverbed in Montebello, a suburb 8 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, halted operations at an oil field, prompted the evacuation of a park and road closures.
A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson, Montebello Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Amador told the Whittier Daily News.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter made a hard landing while assisting in the firefight, causing a minor injury to a crew member, fire Inspector Chris Reade said.
The fire, which grew to about 200 acres, was 20 percent contained
In Northern California, firefighters made more gains against a wildfire 100 miles north of San Francisco that forced mountain-town dwellers to evacuate for the second time in days. Wind shifts sent smoke from the fire all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area, where residents turned to social media to report the haze. The National Weather Service said smoky conditions were likely to remain in the area throughout the weekend.
Two fires have charred dry Lower Lake, the most recent burning 39 square miles of thick brush and oak trees in Lake and Napa counties. It was 82 percent contained by Sunday.
An earlier, larger fire in the same area was fully contained Friday more than two weeks after it broke out. The blaze destroyed 43 homes.
Colorado
Lightning storms across northwest Colorado are being blamed for several wildfires, including one north of Craig that was estimated at more than 1,000 acres. The Bureau of Land Management says no injuries have been reported and one home was evacuated. It was 80 percent contained Monday.The Northwest Colorado Fire Management Unit says nine fires were ignited Saturday.
Firefighters say the fires were pushed in multiple directions by erratic winds from passing storms.
Montana
So many wildfires have ignited across the Northern Rockies this month that fire officials are allowing some that might be suppressed under normal circumstances to burn because manpower and equipment are committed elsewhere.There were 86 active fires burning across Montana and Idaho as of Monday, and seven in Montana were listed as unstaffed due to a lack of resources, according to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center. All seven are small fires burning in remote areas in northwestern Montana.
"Every fire engine out there is on a fire," coordination center spokeswoman Liz Slown said. "Everything's being used and everything's being cycled through as quickly as possible."
Fire officials are watching those fires and will reallocate resources if they pose a threat to public safety, she said. Also, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock declared a state of emergency over the weekend that will free up the Montana National Guard and additional state resources to help fight the fires.
Last week's hot weather and lightning-packed storms helped ignite dozens of new fires in drought-parched areas of western Montana from east of Dillon to the Canadian border.
The new starts raised the national priority level for the region — which includes Idaho, Montana and parts of North Dakota and South Dakota — to the highest point on the 1-5 scale, Slown said.
"The fires in the Northwest have first priority, we have second priority," she said. "Even though we have been moved up to a higher priority, there are just so many resources."
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