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August 23, 2015 A JOINT publicAtion ofWENATCHEE the wenAtchee worldTHE And the chronicle$1.50 A joint $1.50 PUBLICATION OF THE WORLD CHRONICLE A JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE WENATCHEE WORLD ANDAND THE CHRONICLE $1.50
AY2011 7, 2011 AYM7,
Okanogan County still in line of fire Fire officials unable to provide accurate information on size, damage caused By Dee Camp The Chronicle
O
MAK – Fires continue to hammer Okanogan and Ferry counties, leaving residents on edge and mourning losses of homes, and fire officials scrambling as flames spot ahead, flare up in already burned neighborhoods or advance into new areas.
“The intensity is hard to describe in the right terms,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, who visited Okanogan County on Wednesday. “It’s another very, very dangerous and damaging fire season.” A Red Flag Warning was issued Saturday afternoon by the National Weather Service for Eastern Washington for 1 p.m. today to 9 p.m. Monday because of hot, dry and unstable weather conditions, and the potential for increased fire activity. A similar warning
was issued last week; it expired Friday. Six fires – some of which have merged – make up the Okanogan Complex. They have burned many homes in the Omak, Okanogan, Riverside, Conconully and Twisp areas. An exact count was not available at press time, because the fires were still raging, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said. Homes have burned on Omak-Riverside Eastside Road, Chewiliken and Tunk
See Fire 2
North Star Fire rages Officials: Blaze has not yet merged with Tunk Block By Brock Hires The Chronicle
AENEAS VALLEY – The North Star Fire continued racing across the Colville Indian Reservation this weekend and growing northward toward Aeneas Valley. The fire has not yet merged with the Tunk Block Fire burning east of Tonasket and Omak, as well as the adjacent Chewiliken and Tunk valleys. Should the fires merge, the entire complex will be larger than last year’s Carlton Complex wildfires that burned 256,108 acres in southern Okanogan County. Fire officials said yesterday that when improved fire information is available, fire managers will be able to determine perimeters of the fires more precisely. Meanwhile, the Tunk Block Fire is only a couple miles west of the North Star Fire. The latter, now estimated at 126,522 acres, continues to burn along the Colville Indian Reservation with no containment in sight. As of press time Saturday afternoon, Level 3 (highest) evacuation orders remained in effect for all of Aeneas Valley, Nespelem and surrounding areas. “The sky may be clear in the Aeneas Valley; however, the Aeneas Valley area is still in a Level 3 status,” officials said Saturday morning. “Please stay safe and avoid this area; Fire behavior can change quickly and we do not want anyone to get trapped in that area.” State Highway 20 from Tonasket east to Aeneas Valley was closed Friday, with some state Department of Transportation escort openings. Although as many as 2,000 structures remain threatened, fire officials were adamant Saturday that no structures have been lost in the North Star Fire. However, unconfirmed residential reports indicate multiple structures were destroyed Friday morning in the Haley Creek and Disautel areas, southeast of Omak. State Highway 155 has been closed between Omak and Nespelem. And Colville Indian Reservation forests are closed to the public due to extreme fire danger.
Al Camp/The Chronicle
Another firefighter transported to hospital At least five men have been injured and three killed fighting fire here By Roger Harnack The Chronicle OMAK — A Grant County firefighter was transported to Mid-Valley Hospital after being taken off the fire line along Greenacres Road on Friday
afternoon. Incident command officials in the Okanogan County Emergency Operations Center did not have the name and age of the firefighter, nor did they have information on the extent of his injuries or treatment. The firefighter was transported by pickup truck from the Greenacres Road area to Omak Municipal Airport at 11:55 a.m. There, he was put on a gurney and loaded into a LifeLine Ambulance bound for Mid-Valley Hospital.
An employee at the hospital Saturday said the firefighter’s status could not be looked up without his name. The firefighter is the fifth known to have been transported to a hospital. Daniel Lyon, 25, of Puyallup, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle following a vehicle crash in the line of fire Aug. 19. At least seven firefighters were involved in that incident. Former Carlton resident Tom Zbyszewski, 20, of Walla
Walla; Andrew Zajac, 26, of Winthrop and Richard Wheeler, 31, of South Haven, Mich., were killed in that incident. And fire officials have yet to release the names, ages, hometowns or conditions of the other firefighters. According to the U.S. Forest Service, those involved in that incident were in a vehicle that crashed in the Twisp River area and were overtaken by fire. Dr. Tam Pham, who is treating Lyon, said the firefighter suffered third-degree
burns over more than half of his body and is in intensive care. He will have a long recovery ahead of him, hospital officials said. A team will review the fire fighters’ actions and the crash “The investigation will be coordinated with the Washington state DNR investigation of injuries of two wildland firefighters sustained on the same fire,” a statement released by the U.S. Forest
See Injured 2
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