Winds shifted 180 degrees on Engine 642 as it headed up Woods Canyon Road about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday to fight the newly discovered Twisp River Fire. Inside were four firefighters. The engine somehow went off the road as flames approached. Three of the firefighters were later found deceased, inside the fire engine, said John Phipps, lead on the Coordinated Response Protocol Team that is investigating the deaths.
- PUB DATE: 8/24/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wenatchee world

A juvenile inmate helping fight wildfires in North Central Washington escaped Friday after allegedly assaulting a staff member. Officials have said the inmate no longer poses a threat to the community. The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the escaped inmate was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2015 5:31:38 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Public Radio

The three men killed fighting a fire on a hillside near Twisp last week were found in a small fire engine that had plunged over an embankment on a curve, Forest Service officials said Sunday. A fourth, critically injured firefighter was discovered a short distance from the vehicle and had apparently walked away from the crash site, said John Phipps, who is leading the agency’s investigation.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2015 4:43:08 PM - SOURCE: Seattle Times

A new firefighting mobilization center is being set up at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane to help fight wildfires in Washington state. The base will be the staging area for 20 large fire engines and 10 water takers and will be run by a team from San Diego, California. "We are deeply appreciative of these resources from our many partnering states.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2015 10:45:29 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

A massive complex of blazes that killed three firefighters in north-central Washington state has grown by more than 100 square miles in a day as fierce winds howled across the region, and now President Obama has declared the area a disaster area. Fire spokesman Rick Isaacson said early Friday that the wildfires have grown to just over 252 square miles since Thursday morning.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2015 9:01:27 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000