Western Wildfire Update: Weather Conditions Spread Through Washington, California, Idaho, Oregon

Wildfires ravaged Western states in the U.S. fueled by dry conditions. Many homes and cabins have been burned, forcing people to evacuate for their safety.

The Associated Press reports that the west winds have been helping fan the wildfires that are moving fast across various places, making it harder for firefighters to contain the flames.

Firefighters have been fighting hard against the flames to save properties and people. As per InciWeb, 30 percent of contained wind-pushed fires have already burned 38,793 acres of land in the Washington state.

CNN reported that in Chelan, a town populated by about 4,000 people, four fires have been reported to happen, burning an estimate of 100 structures including cabins and homes, according to the Chelan County Emergency Management. Evacuation orders up to 1,500 are reportedly already in place.

In a separate report from CNN, Jim Duck of the Central Washington Interagency Communication Center, said that lightning strikes started the fires Friday morning near Chelan.

In California, the Associated Press reports that though ablaze threatening Southern California homes was contained, a second blaze remained out of control after burning down cabins and a wide plot of forest land near Los Angeles. Also, on Friday, 1,500 acres of land, four cabins and an outbuilding were burned in Glendora and Azusa in Los Angeles. 

Firefighters also mopped up a 189-acre fire that started Friday in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles. It was contained overnight without any building damage.

In Northern California, firefighters advanced against a wildfire 100 miles north of San Francisco that forced local dwellers to evacuate for the second time in days. 

Saturday, fires burning thick brush and oak trees in Lake and Napa counties was 80 percent contained. In the same area, a larger fire that destroyed 43 homes was also contained Friday.

In Idaho, InciWeb reports that 860 people worked together to bring the Soda Fire under control. The fire that has burned 283,686 acres in Owyhee County was 25 percent contained.

There are no reports of injuries or deaths by fire. However, authorities said a 70-year-old woman, Cheryl Lee Wissler of Adams Grade, died from a head injury she sustained while preparing to evacuate.

More than 750 people were assigned to fight the fires in several areas near Kamiah town. Authorities estimate 30 homes and 75 other structures being lost to the fire.

The fires added to the damage that was already done by the drought. 

In Oregon, guests were forced to flee as a fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation exploded to more than 50 square miles.

Fires that started from vehicle-produced sparks destroyed three structures.

Lightning also sparked a 34-square-mile fire that burned 20 to 25 structures in Canyon City, eastern Oregon. Residents were forced to evacuate, according to KTVZ-TV.

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