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Wildfires Burn Across US and Canada 08/10 06:24
(AP) -- Wildfires burning across the western U.S. and Canada on Sunday left
some residents keeping a wary eye out for possible evacuation orders while
others already forced to flee their homes waited to see what would be left on
their return.
In western Canada, over 20,000 people were forced to flee communities along
Okanagan Lake in British Columbia over the weekend as a fast-moving wildfire
destroyed homes and dozens had to be rescued by aircraft. In the U.S., crews in
Washington that have been fighting three wildfires that began burning in the
Spokane area for over a week continued cleanup near containment lines.
Laurie Allen left her home in Nine Mile Falls, a community north of Spokane,
last weekend, fleeing with her husband, dog and two kittens as a wildfire
burned a short distance away. The roads into her neighborhood were still closed
Sunday but she said she'd learned from a friend that while covered in ashes,
her house and others nearby were intact.
"I've been here 65 years. It's never happened," Allen said. "We didn't think
about anything but grabbing our animals and leaving. But now it's affected so
many of our friends and family around. So it's pretty dang devastating."
Over 20,000 flee Canadian wildfires
In Canada, Anette Boulet was among residents who fled Summerland, home to
about 12,000 people along Okanagan Lake in British Columbia. As she and her
family left around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, their home was shrouded in smoke.
"You couldn't see barely. It was, it was just dark, and the ridge, the ridge
of fire just coming towards you," said Boulet, who evacuated to a center in
Penticton.
"There's no words to express it," she said. "The fear."
Later Sunday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said an 80-year-old woman
died while trying to escape the wildfire that forced evacuations in the
Okanagan Lake region.
Besides the evacuations in Summerland, the Bald Range fire, first reported
Friday evening, has also led to the evacuation of about 8,000 people in and
around nearby Peachland. British Columbia declared a state of emergency
Saturday.
Eleanor Olszewski, Canada's minister of emergency management and community
resilience, said Sunday on social media that she'd approved a request for
federal assistance from British Columbia to provide shelter and accommodations
for those forced to flee.
Spokane-area fires leave residents on edge
Crews fighting three wildfires in the Spokane area continued "mop-up
operations" on Sunday near containment lines, and none of the fires were
growing, according to a news release from the team managing those wildfires.
The fires, which have burned over the last week, have damaged or destroyed
about 920 structures.
Earlier in the week, a man was arrested and charged with intentionally
setting the biggest of the three Spokane-area blazes.
Residents in the tiny rural town of Malden, located about 35 miles (55
kilometers) south of Spokane, had been urged Saturday to evacuate immediately.
By Sunday, however, their evacuation level was downgraded to be ready to
quickly leave if necessary.
"The wind is fairly calm. The fire is not progressing," said John Goyke,
whose company operates Malden's water under contract, "but we're using social
media and Facebook to keep in contact with everyone."
Goyke, who is the mayor of nearby Rosalia, said Malden's residents have been
told to conserve water so it can be saved for fire trucks if needed, and
Malden's fire department has been trucking water from Rosalia.
In 2020, Malden was mostly destroyed by a wildfire, losing its fire station,
post office, city hall and library.
Two killed fighting wildfire when helicopter crashes
In Utah, two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed while
they were fighting a wildfire Friday morning in the Fishlake National Forest.
Crews were finally able to get to the site Saturday to confirm the deaths.
Officials said Sunday that fire activity had prevented them from quickly
reaching the area amid steep, rough terrain.
"When we first got there we could see two different plumes of smoke, one
from the crash site, one from an active fire coming towards us," Sevier County
Sheriff Nathan Curtis said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the
crash.
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