Crews are beginning to head home from the biggest wildfires that have been burning for the last two weeks in central Washington. But there are still more than 4,000 people working to contain the blazes on the east slopes of the Washington Cascades. That’s down about 800 from the peak workforce last weekend.
In Wenatchee, fire information officer Rick Isaacson says, even as crews make progress containing the blazes, some of the fires will continue until the rains come.
“Containment means putting a ring around the fire itself so it can’t go outside that ring. That still means there could be a lot of fuel within the ring that goes around the fire."
In Oregon, a new wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge has closed a path for bicyclists and hikers and slowed traffic on Interstate 84. The 50-acre fire is two miles east of Hood River.
Meanwhile, across the Gorge to the North, the Cascade Creek Fire near Mount Adams is about 40 percent contained. The spread of that blaze slowed when it hit a natural lava bed.
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Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network