Fires Cover More Than 3,500 Acres in Washington

July 6, 2005
A pair of wildfires in north-central Washington continued to burn Tuesday across about 2,500 acres of land near Omak and Winthrop.

OMAK, Wash. (AP) -- A pair of wildfires in north-central Washington continued to burn Tuesday across about 2,500 acres of land near Omak and Winthrop. Another fire, north of the Hanford nuclear reservation in south-central Washington, burned more than 1,000 acres.

The largest blaze was northeast of Omak, and had burned about 2,000 acres on the Colville Indian Reservation, in sage and grassland.

The fire was reported about 1:30 p.m. Monday near a residential area, but no structures were being threatened late Tuesday afternoon as wind moved the flames away from the homes, said Dale Warriner, information officer for the interagency group fighting the fire.

About 150 people fought the fire Tuesday, and as many as 500 were expected to be on the scene Wednesday. No containment estimate was available late Tuesday afternoon, Warriner said.

The fire near Winthrop had burned about 500 acres. It started Sunday, and firefighters had it largely contained Tuesday with the help of helicopters and air tankers.

No injuries were reported, and the causes of both fires were under investigation.

The fire north of Hanford was reported Tuesday afternoon and covered more than 1,000 acres of brush. Blowing smoke prompted the Washington State Patrol to close state Highways 24 and 243.

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