ELLENSBURG — Fire officials are considering the use of explosives to build a fire break on an inaccessible section of a fast growing wildfire in central Washington.
The Snag Canyon wildfire near Ellensburg has grown to nearly 14 square miles and is only 15 percent contained, officials said Friday. The lightning-caused fire is being fought by more than 700 people. Crews are focusing on the east and northeast sections of the fires. No new structure damage has been reported. The fire has previously burned six homes and 13 other buildings.
The explosives crew is looking at the northern edge of the fire, which is near the site where another large wildfire burned in 2012. They hope to blow out a line of trees and brush, to stop the fire in its tracks.
A new fire in Central Washington took off quickly near Cle Elum. It started around 4 p.m. Thursday and had grown to about 400 to 500 acres by Friday morning.
More than 100 miles northeast of those fires, a wildfire burning on the Colville Reservation has grown to 16 square miles.
The Devil’s Elbow Complex is burning 10 miles north of Keller, Washington. Fire officials say nearly 150 homes and other structures are threatened. Thirty-two residents living nearest to the fire have been evacuated and others have been told to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
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