09:26 PM PDT on Friday, August 12, 2005

Associated Press

DAVENPORT, Wash. - Crews gained ground Friday on six major wildfires burning in Eastern Washington, including a 1,500-acre fire burning west of here that had forced the evacuation of nearly three dozen homes for a time.

A powerful storm blew through the area late Friday afternoon, packing sustained winds of 30 mph and gusts to 40 mph, but fire lines held on the Harker Canyon fire about nine miles west of here, said Steve Jennison, a state Department of Natural Resources spokesman.

In Spokane County, winds as high as 60 mph were reported, with lightning and downed power lines sparking more than two dozen small fires, including one that destroyed five mobile homes at Silver Lake west of Spokane, the Spokesman-Review reported. Firefighters and rain took care of most of those fires.

Forecasters said fewer thunderstorms were predicted for the weekend. Temperatures in the area have been in the high 80s and low 90s.

AP

Firefighters light a controlled burn on the edge of the School fire in southeastern Washington state near Pomeroy, Wash., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005. The fire, which has burned more than 40,000 acres so far, is burning south towards the Umatilla National Forest.

Firefighters were temporarily pulled off the Harker Canyon fire when the windstorm hit but the temperature also dropped 30 degrees and the humidity shot up to 30 percent. While the fire got no rain, "we held within the containment lines so that's good news for us," Jennison said. The containment figure for the fire was bumped to 60 percent Friday night, up from 25 percent, he said. A night fire crew was dispatched with orders to patrol the fire perimeter.

Anticipating the wind, firefighters earlier in the day lit backfires in an effort to burn out fuels ahead of the advancing flames.

The Harker Canyon fire, burning across grass, sagebrush and tree-filled ravines about 35 miles west of Spokane, started Wednesday.

Residents who had been evacuated from 35 homes were allowed to return home.

John Sowyer and his wife Rita live northwest of here and were briefly forced from their home. He said he saw flames jump the canyon toward his house Wednesday night.

AP

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signs a declaration of emergency on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005, in Olympia, Wash. Hundreds of firefighters across the state are battling a half-dozen large wildfires in eight rural counties. State Patrol Chief John Batiste, left, and Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald look on.

"I thought, 'She's all over,"' John Sowyer recalled Friday, covered in orange paint from repainting a farm combine. "Luckily it slowed down going down the hill." At the 48,000-acre School fire in southeastern Washington near Pomeroy - by far the largest fire in the lower 48 states Friday - fire officials continued to worry about the potential for the blaze to grow even larger. The fire, burning in steep, rough ground, was 40 percent contained.

About 1,400 firefighters were assigned to the fire, and about 100 residences remained evacuated.

The fire already has burned 109 residences, along with 106 outbuildings. Most of those buildings burned last weekend, and include a mix of modest summer cabins and full-time residences, said Barrie McVey, a fire spokeswoman.

Gov. Christine Gregoire declared a wildfire emergency in Washington state on Thursday, ordering agencies to aid firefighting efforts. She also alerted the National Guard for a possible call-up.

On Friday, state officials stressed that state resources were not yet tapped out, and federal firefighting resources were still widely available. The National Guard will be activated only as a last resort, said Mark Kahley, resource protection division manager for the state Department of Natural Resources.

AP

A helicopter drops water on the Harker Canyon Fire near Davenport, Wash. on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 11, 2005.

The Harker Canyon fire was burning in areas much drier than in years past, which makes it harder to control, said Jeff May, a state firefighter.

Rita Sowyer was grateful for the effort. While she and her husband have learned to expect fires, the blaze marked the first time they had been evacuated from their home of 22 years.

"This is really dry country. Once the fields go, we're in for it," she said.

In the next few days, state fire crews were expected to turn over mop-up operations to local firefighters in three other large Eastern Washington wildfires.

The Burnt Bread fire in north-central Washington, about 17 miles southeast of Tonasket, was 90 percent contained at about 1,350 acres Friday. The 1,150-acre Dirty Face fire near Lake Wenatchee was 80 percent contained. Full containment was expected Saturday for the Lick Creek fire near Cle Elum on the east slope of the Cascades in central Washington. The blaze remained at 735 acres and was 90 percent contained Friday.

Fire crews also had fully contained a 6,000-acre fire burning in south-central Washington near Richland in the Hanford Reach National Monument north of the Columbia River.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service on Friday issued a citation to a 30-year-old Everett man believed to have caused the 20-acre Davis Fire last week along the North Cascades Highway in Ross Lake National Recreation Area by burning toilet paper to dispose of it.

The citation carries a maximum penalty of $5,000 and six months in prison.

Oregon fires

AP

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, center, walks with firefighter supervisors Keith Satterfield, left, and John Szulc, right, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005, in the heavily wooded residential area near Lake Wenatchee where the Dirtyface Fire is believed to have been started by a fire that destroyed a mobile home near Leavenworth, Wash. Gregoire expressed concern that severe drought conditions in central Washington could spell trouble for the rest of the summer.

Blossom Complex - Oregon Department of Forestry mobilized a "short team" of 17 fire management personnel Wednesday as part of a unified command with the U.S. Forest Service. The team will be in charge of the east side of the Blossom Fire, the remaining active fire in the complex. The 3,077-acre blaze in the Wild Rogue Wilderness northeast of Gold Beach has potential to move onto Bureau of Land Management lands to the east that are protected by the Department of Forestry.

Tryon Complex - The 8,500-acre complex of wildfires 20 miles north of Imnaha is uncontained. Firefighters did structure protection work Wednesday. Oregon Department of Forestry has personnel on the Blue Mountain Interagency Team that took over management of the complex yesterday.

Rhinehart Road Fire - The 670-acre fire northeast of La Grande has been contained and is in mop-up. Heavy air attack combining federal and Department of Forestry helicopters and air tankers prevented the wind-driven blaze from growing much larger.

Camas Creek Fire - Coos Forest Protective Association firefighters turned over the Camas Creek Fire northeast of Remote to the landowner Wednesday evening. The fire is in mop-up. Corrected size is 179 acres.