Emergency officials have issued a Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation order for an area west of Okanogan as a wildfire burning on Pogue Mountain continued moving north Thursday evening. The evacuation applied to all roads west of Conconully Highway from Kermal Road to Green Lake Road, according to Okanogan County Emergency Management.

Officials said the fire is burning on Pogue Mountain above Vic Smith Road and is heading north. Residents in the evacuation area were told to leave immediately and not wait for additional notifications or door-to-door contact. “This may be your only evacuation notice,” Okanogan County Emergency Management said in its alert.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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PHOTOS: Three firefighters from eastern Washington providing mutual aide were injured in the Chelan Hills wildfire last week in what the fire chief calls “a near tragic burnover.” South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue Chief Shane Stocking says his department mobilized three brush engines and two water tenders to support strike teams on the massive wildfire on July 4th.

Around 3:00 that afternoon, what Stocking calls “unprecedented fire behavior” overran the strike teams. Stocking says several state and local fire department resources were lost, including an engine from South Pend Oreille Fire and an engine from Stevens County Fire District 11.

Two South Pend Oreille firefighters were taken to the hospital by ambulance and admitted, but have since been released. A firefighter from Stevens County District 11 also had a firefighter transported, who has also been released. DNR also confirms it lost a truck, but said those firefighters made it to a safe zone and were not hurt. Stocking’s news release is the first public confirmation of the burnover and loss of state and local resources.

“Make no mistake, these brave firefighters made decisions to flee for their lives and should be commended for their decision making and actions,” said Chief Stocking. “This kind of burnover does not happen often in this state,” he said. “Early in this wildfire season, we are seeing multiple examples of extreme fire behavior in the wildland-urban-interface. SPOFR is beyond proud of our members for making decisions to save their lives in the face of catastrophic fire events, as is the leadership at Stevens County District 11.”

The Chelan Hills Fire has burned nearly 10,000 acres and 100 structures. The most incident report says the fire is 75% contained.

One person died trying to escape the fire in their vehicle.

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PHOTOS: A barn and several vehicles have caught fire in the 4300 block of South Washington Street in Kennewick, sending smoke into the sky. Kennewick Fire Department (KPD) Chief Michael Heffner confirmed crews responded to the scene.

The Kennewick Police Department reported that the fire threatened multiple nearby structures. KFD Chief Michael Heffner said the barn is a total loss and that multiple outbuildings and vehicles were damaged. Livestock were “spooked” but are safe. No injuries were reported.

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Two firefighters were injured in a wildfire incident in eastern Washington that destroyed four fire trucks.

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The Ann Arbor Fire Department is adding a new $346,000 ambulance to its fleet.

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