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U.S. NEWS Thursday 19 July 2018

Growing fire shows potential for explosive Northwest season

By GILLIAN FLACCUS forced two houses to evac-
Associated Press uate and 31 more hom-
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A eowners to get ready to
fast-moving fire fueled by flee Wednesday after the
gusting winds in the Pa- flames spread near the
cific Northwest has forced California border.
dozens of households to Another blaze about 200
evacuate and prompted miles (322 kilometers) east
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown of Portland got tamped
to declare an emergency down after farmers and
Wednesday. ranchers used their heavy
The flames near the city of equipment to help create
The Dalles started Tuesday lines to contain the flames.
and expanded overnight Some fences and horse cor-
to more than 45 square rals burned, but no homes
miles (117 kilometers), were lost, said Melissa Ross,
chewing through fields of Morrow County Sheriff's Of-
wheat in farm country and fice spokeswoman.
bringing back memories of "In some instances, it was
a devastating wildfire last very close (and) if not for
summer that devastated a all those who turned out to
scenic area further west in help, the end of this story
the Columbia River Gorge. would have been very dif-
The blaze about 80 miles ferent," she said.
(130 kilometers) east of Elsewhere in the Pacific
Portland doesn't bode well Northwest, a small fire near
for a Pacific Northwest fire Spokane Valley, Washing-
season that's expected to ton, prompted evacua-
be worse than normal, with tion notices for 700 homes.
drought conditions in many Several homes caught fire,
areas and above-average according to Spokane Val-
temperatures forecast ley Fire Department spokes-
through September, the woman Melanie Rose. Offi-
center said. cials said at least one struc-
One home has been de- ture had been completely
stroyed, and a burned In this Tuesday, July 17, 2018 photo, the Central Point fire burns along Biddle Road in Central Point, destroyed.
transmission line caused Ore. In California, a deadly for-
power outages Wednes- Associated Press est fire was spreading west
day. of Yosemite National Park,
It comes as other states Coordination Center. hot." tourists a year and holds keeping a key route into
across the American West, Firetrucks tried to spray wa- The Columbia River Gorge North America's largest the park shut down during
including California and ter on the leading edges of separating Oregon and concentration of waterfalls. tourist season and forcing
Colorado, have struggled the fire as it burned through Washington is still recover- The landscape further east communities to evacuate.
with massive blazes that acres of wheat, with ev- ing from a wildfire last year along the river transitions to But the park's trails, camp-
have torn through land erything behind the flames that scorched 75 square grasslands and flat, open grounds, restaurants and
gripped by drought. charred black. miles (194 square kilome- vistas dotted with wheat lodges are open, though
In Oregon, very low humid- "These light fuels go up very ters), ravaged popular hik- fields — where the fire was smoke is polluting the air
ity, high temperatures and quickly," DeMario said. "The ing trails and marred stun- burning Wednesday. and limiting visibility.
winds gusting up to 30 mph grassy stalks are very dry, ning vistas. Elsewhere in the state, sev- More than 1,800 firefighters
(48 kph) made the flames they have lost the mois- It burned in the western eral fires started by lightning are battling the blaze that
explosive in thin grasses and ture in those stalks, and end that's home to the over the weekend burned started Friday and now
wheat fields, said Robin De- so if a fire start begins, we Columbia River Gorge Na- as temperatures flirted with spans 27 square miles (70
Mario, a spokeswoman for call it 'flashy fuels' because tional Scenic Area, which triple digits. square kilometers), the U.S.
the Northwest Interagency it burns very fast and very attracts more than 3 million One in southern Oregon Forest Service said.q