RICE, Wash. — A fast-moving brush fire is forcing Level 3 evacuations near Rice, Washington in Stevens County.
According to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the fire was called in around 1:45 p.m. and has since grown to 674 acres as of 8 a.m. Monday. It’s burning one mile northeast of Rice.
All Level 3 notices have been dropped. Level 2, be ready to leave, notices are still in effect from Plesant Valley to Goddard road, Orin rice Road to Scatter Gun road. Orin Rice to Chamberlain and then Plesant Valley back to Goddard. All other areas do not have any evacuation notices.
Outside of the area, a level 2 evacuation order has been put in place.
According to Stevens County Emergency Management, 22 homes are threatened and none have been lost.
DNR is on scene working to put the fire out with aircraft and ground crews.
They've requested a Type 3 Incident Management Team, which helps firefighters gather more resources to help fight the fire.
As of 6 a.m. Saturday, crews will be using Kettle Falls High School as an Incident Command Center.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.