LARGEST WILDFIRE EVER | Cooler weather aids crews fighting in Washington fire

A DC-10 air tanker pulls up after dropping fire retardant over a wildfire

Firefighters and local authorities are heartened by weather forecasts that call for continued cooler temperatures and higher humidity as they battle a destructive wildfire that has charred hundreds of square miles in Washington state and is the largest in state history.
They just hope that the “lightning watch” also forecast this week doesn’t ignite new fires.
“We don’t need any more lightning,” Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said yesterday.
“Right now there’s honestly no wind,” Rogers said, noting that rising evening winds complicated earlier firefighting efforts. “I’m hoping this is helping.”
The Carlton Complex of fires in north-central Washington had burned about 982 square kilometers, fire spokesman Andrew Sanbri said. That would make it the largest wildfire in the state since record-keeping started.
“There is optimism in the air, but we don’t want to give the impression that all is good,” Sanbri said. “Things are improving.”
The fire was just 2 percent contained yesterday (Macau time).
Fire crews quickly attacked a new fire east of Tonasket yesterday, Rogers said. A half-dozen homes were briefly evacuated, but the fire burned past them with no destruction.
Residents of a couple of dozen additional rural homes were told to leave Monday, but Rogers said that was just a precaution.
At 243,000 acres, the Carlton Complex is larger than the Yacolt Burn, which consumed 238,920 acres in southwestern Washington in 1902 and was the largest recorded forest fire in state history, according to HistoryLink.org, an online resource of Washington state history. The Yacolt Burn killed 38 people.
Rogers has estimated that 150 homes have been destroyed already, but he suspected that number could rise. The fire is being blamed for one death.
Firefighters were hampered by the loss of electricity in the area due to downed power lines and poles, which hurt communications. There was no estimate on when utilities would be restored.
Forecasts for today expect a vigorous front to cover Washington, bringing rain to much of the state. But it will also bring lightning.
One man died of an apparent heart attack while fighting the fire near his home, Rogers said.
There are more than 1,600 firefighters battling the flames, assisted by more than 100 fire engines, helicopters dropping buckets of water and planes spreading flame retardant, Sanbri said.
Many towns in the scenic Methow Valley remain without power and have limited landline and cellphone service. Fully restoring power to the area could take weeks.
The state estimates that about 7,000 electricity customers are without power, Clemens said. The population of Okanogan County is about 40,000 people. AP