Winds likely to fan two fires near Chelan

By The Associated Press

TOM WILLIAMS / AP A helicopter scoops a bucket full of water out of the Columbia River yesterday while fighting the Beebe Bridge fire, which was burning about 3,200 acres three miles east of Lake Chelan.

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The Beebe Bridge fire, about three miles east of the lake and the Columbia River, flared to 3,200 acres early yesterday.

Winds could blow the fire north and east, where it could endanger houses and other structures, said Ray Steiger, a spokesman with the incident-management team assigned to the fire.

The fire, burning in steep and rocky grasslands, was about 10 percent contained yesterday afternoon.

About 170 firefighters were assigned to the blaze.

Firefighters were working to build fire lines to protect two small subdivisions of homes and nearby wheat fields. Douglas County sheriff's officers recommended residents from about 45 homes evacuate after strong winds blew the fire north Monday night. Officers couldn't estimate yesterday how many had actually left.

"That's our greatest concern right now. With the amount of resources we have right now we should be able to control it. But if the wind pushes in, that could be a problem," Steiger said.

Steiger said no homes had been lost as of early yesterday, but a couple of outbuildings burned.

Meanwhile, the Pot Peak fire, 15 miles west of the lake in the Twenty-Five Mile Creek drainage, had spread to 6,550 acres Monday night — up from nearly 3,500 the day before, said Marc Hollen, spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland.

It was about 35 percent contained, and crews were scrambling to secure fire lines. Nearly 900 people were assigned to the fire.

Hollen noted that strong winds were expected to continue through today .
 
There were no reports of serious injuries in either blaze.

Grass and forest land across Washington are tinder-dry.

The Hopkins Canyon fire in northeast Washington was contained late Sunday at eight square miles, but crews were still working to control it, Hollen said.

The Freezeout fire near the U.S.-Canadian border in the Pasayten Wilderness remained at 150 acres and 17 percent containment.