3 wildfires burning nearly 78 square miles in Washington

Associated Press

SPOKANE— A wildfire burning in dry grasslands in central Washington state has grown dramatically.

The fire, burning 15 miles south of East Wenatchee, jumped from 16 square miles on Wednesday to 59.3 square miles on Thursday.

The state Department of Natural Resources says the fire is only about 10 percent contained Thursday.

Meanwhile, a fire burning near Yakima has prompted the mandatory evacuation of about 20 homes, with the occupants of another 100 homes told to be ready to leave at any minute. That fire was 4.3 square miles.

Another fire burning near Wenatchee grew slightly to 14 square miles Thursday, and was 30 percent contained. That fire threatened about 80 homes.