KLICKITAT CO. — A vegetation fire that started Friday afternoon along State Route 14 in Klickitat County in Washington, has grown to more than 1,900 acres, destroyed multiple homes and prompted evacuations. Dubbed the Burdoin Fire, flames spread quickly due to winds and has prompted mobilization of a Type 3 Incident Management Team. Approximately 250 firefighters are engaged with the blaze.
A house on the bluff burns after the Burdoin Fire ignited on Friday afternoon.
Laura Waller photo
The fire is 0% contained. 20 residences threatened, 5 damaged, 3 destroyed according to Northwest Coordination Center or https://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/.
The Klickitat County Public Utility District (KPUD) issued a press release on Saturday morning which stated that the fire had burned power lines and left about 50 residents without power. Crews had managed to restore power to nine of those customers as of Friday at 11 p.m. The rugged landscape is proving difficult and the KPUD said additional assessments and repairs will occur in the coming days.
For safety, all community members are reminded to stay far away from downed power lines. Always assume lines are live and report them to KPUD or call 911.
The Klickitat County Dispatch and Emergency Services Facebook page has the most updated information on fire status and evacuation orders.
Evacuations as of Saturday, July 19 at noon.
Graphic via Watch Duty
A Red Cross Emergency Shelter has been setup at Columbia High School in White Salmon (1455 NW Bruin Country Road). Livestock and other large animal evacuations have been instructed to contact the Klickitat County Emergency Operations Center at 509-773-0570.
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