(Photo: National Guard)
The Associated Press 3:12 p.m. EDT August 16, 2015
CHELAN, Wash. —
Fire officials are hoping calmer winds Sunday will aid fire crews using air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers to attack several large fires burning in the Chelan area that have destroyed more than 50 structures.
Fire incident spokesman Wayne Patterson said Sunday that more fire crews, including from the Washington National Guard, are being mobilized to fight six fires burning in the area.
Together, the Reach, Wolverine and other blazes in the area have scorched more than 155 square miles, forced about 1,500 residents to flee their homes and caused power outages.
Dave Helvey of the Chelan County Sheriff's Office told The Seattle Times that more than 50 structures had been destroyed. The number is likely to be higher as officials get a more accurate count. Patterson said several businesses have been lost.
Patterson said air tankers have established lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan, a popular central Washington resort town. Helicopters have been dipping into Lake Chelan to pull up water to battle blazes north of the lake.
"There were literally people on the beaches near that lake in their swim wear out on the lake right near it," Patterson told The Associated Press.
Lighter winds Sunday will help the more than 700 people battling the complex of fires.
"We're able to start taking the battle to the fire rather than playing defense," Patterson said.
The Chelan Public Utility District said more than 9,000 customers were without power Saturday after the fire destroyed more than 30 poles supporting transmission lines. Crews were working to replace them in areas where it was safe to do so, the utility said.
The hospital in Chelan evacuated some of its patients to a hospital in Wenatchee, 50 miles south, but the emergency room remained open, Chelan County Emergency Management officials said. Several nursing homes and assisted-living centers also chose to evacuate, officials said.
As crews hoped to make progress Sunday, people dealt with the scope of the damage.
Terri Raffetto was at a community center that had been converted into a shelter in Entiat, about 20 miles south of Chelan.
She said she fled her trailer Sunday with her two dogs as flames approached.
"Completely destroyed," Raffetto said.