While this years fire season in Nevada is light, about 200 Silver State fire fighters are lending a hand in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California with about half that number coming from White Pine and Elko Counties.
In addition to Nevada firefighters from as far as Australia and New Zealand have arrived in the West as massive wildfires raging in the Pacific Northwest state taxed resources and led officials to put out a wide call for help.
In Washington, a series of fires raging in the north-central part of the state that earlier killed three firefighters has now grown to become the largest in state history, fire spokesman Rick Isaacson said Monday.
The lightning-caused Okanogan Complex of fires was measured overnight at slightly more than 400 square miles. That’s a bit more than last year’s Carlton Complex blazes, which also were sparked by lightning and burned in Okanogan County.
The Okanogan Complex grew by more than 26 square miles Sunday and is expected to spread even more in coming days.
In Washington, resources were so strained that officials earlier took the unprecedented step of seeking volunteers to help fight the flames. Fire officials over the weekend began providing basic fire training to volunteers who have machinery such as backhoes and bulldozers so they can help dig fire lines.
In California, crews increased containment of a wildfire burning through timber near a popular Southern California ski resort, though hundreds of mountain homes remained threatened early Monday. Several water and retardant-dropping aircraft were making runs over the blaze near Snow Summit resort in Big Bear Lake, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles.
Firefighters working through the night held the blaze to about 100 acres. It was 50 percent contained.
In Idaho it has taken more than 800 firefighters, five helicopters, 26 engines, nine water tenders and eight dozers over the past few days, but the Soda Fire is near containment at last. Crews have the fire almost completely contained, though it has burned 283,686 acres—a black scar so large, it’s visible from space. The fire ripped through ranch and grazing lands, crucial sage grouse habitat, and the home of hundreds of wild horses. The Bureau of Land Management reported that 27 wild horses perished in the fire.
The Soda fire sparked on Aug. 10, and the cause is still unknown. According to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team, the remaining crews will patrol the area, look for any smoke and start rehabilitating containment lines. The rest of the firefighters will be reassigned to the many other fires blazing in the west. Conditions are expected to remain dry and stable through Tuesday, Aug. 18.
