OMAK — A wildfire has burned more than three square miles of timber and rangeland near Omak, and a another fire has blackened nearly twice as much rangeland about five miles west of Coulee Dam.
Evacuation orders for eight homes outside Omak were lifted this morning but remained in effect for five homes to the southeast near Coulee Dam as winds subsided and National Weather Service forecasters predicted breezes under 10 mph.
Koshare Lomnicki, a spokeswoman at the Omak-area firefighting headquarters, said the burn covered 2,275 acres but did not appear to be growing much.
About 250 firefighters were at the scene, and more were on the way.
The fire started late Thursday afternoon, reportedly in a pumphouse. The cause remained under investigation.
The Smith Lake fire started Friday morning near State Route 174, scorched about 4,000 acres of grass and sagebrush and continued to threaten high-voltage power lines this morning, said Rick Isaacson, a spokesman for the Douglas County sheriff’s office. The cause remained undetermined.
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