OKANOGAN — Fire managers from as far as Australia and New Zealand have arrived in the West as massive wildfires raging in Washington state and elsewhere in the region taxed resources and led officials to put out a wide call for help.
In Washington, a blaze raging in the north-central part of the state has grown to become the largest in state history, fire spokesman Rick Isaacson said Monday.
The Okanogan Complex of fires was measured overnight at just over 400 square miles. That’s slightly more than last year’s Carlton Complex blazes, which also burned in Okanogan County.
The latest group of fires grew by more than 26 square miles Sunday and is expected to spread even more in coming days.
Isaacson did not have a containment estimate, but there is very little containment on the wildfire. Officials are still trying to determine how many homes and other structures have burned.
Isaacson called the record unfortunate and said the fire could burn until rain and snow season arrives.
“It’s only Aug. 24th,” Isaacson said. “In our district we could see this go clear to the first of November.”
About 1,250 people are battling the wildfire, Isaacson said. Last week, three firefighters were killed and four injured when they were overtaken while trying to escape the flame.
About 70 fire managers from Australia and New Zealand arrived in Boise, Idaho, and were scheduled to receive protective gear Monday before heading out to fight fires burning in the West.
In Washington, resources were so strained that officials took the unprecedented step of seeking volunteers to help fight the flames. Fire officials over the weekend began providing basic fire training to volunteers who have machinery like backhoes and bulldozers so they can help dig fire lines.
Sixteen large wildfires are burning across central and eastern Washington, covering more than 920 square miles. More than 200 homes have been destroyed, and more than 12,000 homes and thousands of other structures remain threatened.
Elsewhere, crews increased containment of a wildfire burning through timber near a popular Southern California ski resort, though hundreds of mountain homes remained threatened early Monday.
Several water and retardant-dropping aircraft were making runs over the blaze near Snow Summit resort in Big Bear Lake, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles.
Firefighters working through the night held the blaze to about 100 acres. It was 50 percent contained.
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