The Associated Press
Officials say a wildfire near a popular Washington state hiking and skiing destination is now about 50 percent contained.
The blaze just north of Leavenworth started Tuesday and intensified, but Northwest Incident Management Team spokesman Brendan Cowan said Wednesday that hundreds of firefighters and other responders have been able to make progress on the initial fire and two related spot fires.
Officials say the fire hasn’t grown in size since Tuesday night and was still burning on about 40 acres.
Cowan said winds were still blowing and active fire suppression efforts continued.
“I’m not seeing any dramatic fire change or growth, but the wind is strong,” Cowan said.
“It’s still a challenging fire environment. It’s far from being a fully contained fire.”
No structures or homes have been damaged by the fire, and no injuries have been reported.
Cowan said less wind is in today’s forecast, which could make the fire easier to contain.
The wildfire started at an old log-storage site and initially prompted evacuation orders for 168 homes and cabins.
Officials with Chelan County Fire District 3 later Wednesday reduced the number of people in homes and cabins needing to leave immediately.
They said that only those living in the Spromberg Canyon Road area remained under orders to evacuate.
People in Sunitsch Canyon over to Eagle Creek Road have had their orders lessened from “leave immediately” to “be ready to leave.”
Leavenworth is a gateway to Wenatchee National Forest where many people have getaway homes.
The Red Cross opened a shelter in Leavenworth where two people stayed Tuesday night, said Red Cross spokeswoman Christina Jones.
