By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
The Associated Press
OMAK — Firefighters are starting to get a handle on two giant wildfires burning in northcentral Washington.
The largest wildfire in state history, the Okanogan Complex, has now grown to 231 square miles but as Wednesday morning it was 45 percent contained.
The Okanogan Complex is being managed as part of one big fire including the 146-square-mile Chelan Complex. The Chelan Complex was 55 percent contained as of Wednesday morning.
Nearly 2,000 firefighters are working on the two big fire complexes that have burned more than 140 residences. Many other residents are still under evacuation notices.
Fire officials say they are both building lines around the fires and mopping up inside their borders.
Wildfires in other states:
OREGON
Firefighters battling a destructive wildfire near John Day, Ore., are allowing people who have been evacuated for weeks to return to their homes.
The last evacuation alerts were lifted Wednesday, but residents in several neighborhoods were told to be ready to leave on short notice.
The fire has destroyed 43 homes and burned more than 165 square miles. It is 52 percent contained.
Crews focused Wednesday on containing spot fires that broke out beyond the containment lines during a period of hotter temperatures and lower humidity Tuesday. They were hopeful that cooler, more humid conditions Wednesday would allow firefighters to control the flames and strengthen their containment lines.
IDAHO
Fire crews are aggressively working to prevent flames from expanding on a 3-week-old blaze in west-central Idaho that has already burned 143 square miles of dry timber.
More than 900 firefighters are battling the fire, but it was only 30 percent contained. It’s burning in terrain surrounded by large amounts of unburned fuel.
Crews focused their efforts Wednesday on protecting structures along the Salmon River corridor, and rafters were still being stopped and evacuated before entering the fire perimeter.
In northern Idaho, flames crept overnight as close as a mile and a half to the historic Fenn Ranger Station, causing mandatory evacuations.
Idaho currently has 17 large fires, the most in the nation, the National Interagency Fire Center says.
