The Associated Press
SPOKANE — A small fire that prompted evacuation notices for 700 homes near Spokane Valley began in a building and then spread to grass and trees, authorities said.
Several homes caught fire, according to Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rose. State officials said at least one structure had been completely destroyed.
The fire had burned less than one-third of a square mile and had damaged some electrical transmission lines.
The so-called Upriver Beacon Fire died down a bit late Tuesday, and all of the most urgent evacuation notices had been downgraded by Wednesday morning, KREM-TV reported. Level 1 and 2 evacuation notices remained in effect.
Susanna Lavrov, 26, was at home in the area when two people called her and said there was smoke nearby.
“I went outside and it was like, ‘Oh my.’ It’s horrible,” she told the Spokesman-Review. “I could see the flames from my house.”
She grabbed her three kids and fled but said she wanted to get back home because she was worried about her goats and chickens.
Red Cross Northwest officials opened a shelter for evacuees at Bowdish Middle School in Spokane Valley.
The state Department of Natural Resources has been fighting the fire with water drops from a tanker plane. State Patrol Chief John Batiste approved the mobilization of more firefighting teams Tuesday night.
Oregan blazes
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has invoked an emergency order in response to a wildfire burning in two north-central counties and mandatory evacuations for dozens of households.
The Emergency Conflagration Act announced early Wednesday allows the Oregon fire marshal to mobilize resources from around the state to protect homes.
The rapidly advancing grass fire in the Columbia River Gorge near The Dalles, Ore., started Tuesday and expanded during the night more than 45 square miles.
One home has burned, along with some other structures.
Roughly 75 households have been told to evacuate.
Also on Tuesday, several businesses, homes and an assisted living facility were evacuated in Central Point, Ore., near Medford because of a wildfire.
Medford Police said the fire spread quickly through dry brush in a field behind a Costco store and toward the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport.
The fire caused property damage, but no injuries were reported and the flames were stopped before reaching the airport, police said.
California fire
In California, a deadly forest fire continues to spread in the Sierra Nevada west of Yosemite National Park.
The U.S. Forest Service said the blaze covered 27 square miles Wednesday morning.
More than 1,800 firefighters are battling the blaze in Mariposa County that started Friday. The flames shut down a key route into the park at the peak of tourist season and led to mandatory evacuations in nearby communities.
But all trails, campgrounds, restaurants and lodges at Yosemite National Park remain open, though smoke from the fire is polluting the air and limiting visibility.
