Three firefighters died Wednesday while battling devastating wildfires in Washington state, which have charred tens of thousands of acres and prompted thousands of evacuations.
Smoke rises from a wildfire approaching Twisp, Washington, Wednesday.
Ted S. Warren / AP
The firefighters died while fighting blazes in rural central Washington, according to Gov. Jay Inslee's office, who issued a statement:
I was just told that three firefighters died while battling the Twisp fire and four were injured. My heart breaks over the loss of life.
I know all Washington joins me and Trudi in sending our prayers to the families of these brave firefighters. They gave their lives to protect others. It was their calling, but the loss for their families is immense and I know the community will come together to support them.
We will also keep the injured firefighters in our prayers. The conditions throughout the area remain extremely dangerous and I hope residents and visitors will heed evacuation orders or other emergency directions.
A dispatcher for the Okanogan County Office of Emergency Management confirmed to BuzzFeed News Wednesday that evacuations were taking place in the towns of Winthrop and Twisp. The towns lie in Washington's rural interior, about 180 miles from Seattle.
About 3,000 people were under evacuation orders due to the fires, the Seattle Times reported.
The blazes were actually a collection of wildfires burning in the same general region. They were about 20% contained Wednesday, but had been experiencing "extreme, wind driven runs," according to authorities at the scene.
Conconully — a town of roughly 210 people about a hour from Twisp — also had been evacuated Tuesday. The town's Facebook page warned Tuesday afternoon that "all routes from town are closed." An update later announced that road had cleared and everyone was "encouraged to evacuate while a route is open."
By Wednesday, Fox 13 reported that Conconully had survived the fires, though according to the Times three homes were destroyed.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1J5XFHQ
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