OMAK, Wash. (AP) -- Cooler temperatures Wednesday helped fire crews battling three wildfires covering more than 7,000 acres near Omak, Winthrop and on the Hanford nuclear reservation.
Firefighters were optimistic about containing the blaze that had charred 5,100 acres of grass and sagebrush on the northwest corner of the Hanford nuclear reservation, though the acreage covered had more than doubled since Tuesday, said spokeswoman Jeree Mills at the Northwest Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
About 45 firefighters with fire engines and water tenders were on the scene, at the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge near Mattawa, Mills said.
A 530-acre fire in grass, sagebrush and timber near Winthrop was about 60 percent contained, she said. More than 300 firefighters were working that blaze.
And a 2,000-acre fire burning grass and brush near Omak was about 30 percent contained. About 170 firefighters were building fire lines with the help of two helicopters and other equipment. That fire is no longer threatening homes on the Colville Indian reservation.
No injuries were reported at any of the fires. The causes were undetermined.
Meanwhile, three men were in custody for earlier fires.
J.P. Martin King, 30, of Tieton was arraigned Tuesday on a charge of second-degree arson in a series of brush fires covering about 1,200 acres last week in Naches Heights, northwest of Yakima. King, charged with using fireworks to set fires, was being held on $250,000 bail.
Bail was set Tuesday at $50,000 each for two other men _ ages 18 and 20, from Hillsboro, Ore. _ who were being held for investigation of setting a brush fire that burned about 20 acres Saturday along U.S. 97 just south of the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge. A third person was being sought, according to a police affidavit.
On the Net:
Northwest Coordination Center in Portland, Oregon: www.nwccweb.us
