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Firefighters Struggle To Gain Control Of Chelan Complex Fires

Firefighters battle the First Creek Fire northwest of Chelan, Washington, on the South Shore of Lake Chelan.
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Firefighters battle the First Creek Fire northwest of Chelan, Washington, on the South Shore of Lake Chelan.

Fires continue to burn around Lake Chelan in central Washington Monday. Nearly 3,000 residents have been evacuated so far and dozens of homes have burned as firefighters struggle to gain any control over the blaze.

There’s fire on literally every side of Lake Chelan and so there are many different fronts. Firefighters are concentrated on the southern end of the lake trying to protect the most populated areas.

But the larger fire burns unabated because firefighters can’t get in front of it and create enough line or enough defendable space so they can stop it.

In fact this fire at Lake Chelan just jumped the Columbia River as if it wasn’t there. If the Columbia River isn’t stopping it, not much will.

Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network

Anna King
Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.