GOLDENDALE — More than 150 homes were evacuated and
hundreds of firefighters poured into the region as the Mile Marker 28
Fire more than doubled on Friday.
Fire crews started cutting containment lines around
the 4,646-acre wildfire burning in heavy timber and brush, but efforts
were slowed by high temperatures and winds blowing across remote,
canyon-laced terrain about 15 miles north of Goldendale.
Only about 3 percent of the fire was considered contained by early Friday evening.
Erratic winds forced firefighters to pull back at
times during the day as they dug lines on the fire’s southwestern edge
using bulldozers and hand tools, Bernie Pineda, a spokesman with the
fire command team, said. “A Caterpillar did get chased out of there,
because it got a little bit too hairy.”
Officials said the fire could quickly jump or turn
on firefighters. The flames were reported spreading at more than 100
feet per minute through grass and brush at times.
“Right now we don’t have a hard line on very much of
this fire. During the day we won’t be able to attack because of weather
conditions,” said Mark Grassel, a spokesman for the state Department of
Natural Resources. “With any fire, Mother Nature is in control.”
Crews weren’t expected to make much progress until
Friday night, when temperatures were expected to fall and winds become
more favorable, he said.
However, a National Weather Service red flag warning remains in effect until this evening.
Conditions are expected to stay dry and hot, with
moderate winds until tonight, when conditions will cool down through
Sunday, said Rod Brooks, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
On Friday, fire officials reported that a fire
lookout was destroyed and a firefighter was injured Thursday, but they
didn’t immediately know the extent of injuries.
About 800 firefighters
and 30 engines from Washington and Oregon were on the scene Friday, with
more en route.
Six helicopters and two airplanes attacked the flames from above.
The cause of the fire, which started late Wednesday morning, remains under investigation.
Most details on Friday’s evacuations, which were
ordered in the early afternoon by the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office,
were unavailable. Informational meetings for residents are planned
tonight and Sunday.
The Red Cross shelter at Our Father’s House
Fellowship, 207 S. Klickatat Ave. in Goldendale, was empty at midday
Friday except for shelter staff. Behind the church’s front doors, three
women — all local volunteers — chatted about social doings in town,
waiting for anyone in need to come in.
Only a handful of residents have slept there — four Wednesday night and two Thursday, said Red Cross spokeswoman Julie Miller.
Despite the expanded evacuation area, only three
people had come in by Friday evening for a place to sleep, but “we are
preparing for more,” she said.
Even if people have a place to stay, they can come
by the shelter for meals, snacks, toiletries, baby supplies, other
necessities, information, or just to talk to someone during a stressful
time, Miller said. “Our doors are open, and people are welcome.”
As of Friday evening, the unincorporated communities
of Bickleton and Cleveland appeared to be out of the fire’s path,
Pineda said. The 1998 Cleveland Fire skirted both towns, but destroyed
several homes in the area.
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