HUSUM, Wash. - Threats to property close to the wildfire near White Salmon, Washington have eased on the east side, but winds could soon move the fire west.
Homeowners of 35 homes were allowed to return just before noon. Around 50 homes were still in potential danger. Crews said winds were expcted to shift from the west by Sunday.
East winds were making for smoky conditions in the Portland metro area, firefighters warned Friday.
Latest Inciweb: Wildfire condition reports
"The fire has not been as active as we were anticipating. Most of the fire activity is interior burning," US Forest Service spokesman Stan Hinatsu said Thursday.
Mother Nature was kind to firefighters on Thursday, said Chuck Turley, spokesman for Washington Interagency Incident Management.
"The wind has not done what was expected. We're making good progress on the fire now with the right people in the right places."
"It's like watching something that ominous. It is scary. It is a nightmare,"Angie Buchanan said.
Late Thursday night, fire bosses downgraded their estimates of the blaze to 1,200 acres with it 10 percent contained with residents in more than 40 homes ordered to evacuate. The evacuation zones have not changed through the day.
"You don't think it is going to happen to you, and look it kind of upsets you," David Dolezal said. "I don't want to lose everything I've worked for all my life."
No homes have yet been lost, and no one injured.
Turley says most of the heavy timber that's burning is on industrial timberland owned by Longview Timber and SDS Lumber in Bingen, WA.
The fire has been a challenge to fight, in steep terrain and a lot of dry fuel. Turley said firefighters had to be pulled out of a couple areas overnight as flames got into stands of oak trees that torched quickly.
He said rattlesnakes and poison oak also gave firefighters extra challenges.
Fire managers have organized a community meeting for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Columbia High School in White Salmon. The Red Cross evacuation center at the White Salmon Fire Hall remains open but saw only four of five people come for help Wednesday night.
Wash. DNR: What to do when wildfire threatens (doc)
The fire has stayed to the east of Highway 141, so the road is expected to stay open with one way traffic and a pilot car to guide traffic through the fire zone.
Fires started on Wednesday
Calls to Klickitat County 911 around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday alerted crews to four fires burning alongside Highway 141 five miles to the northwest of the SW Washington town of White Salmon. Two of the fires were doused by firefighters, but the other two got into timber and took off. By noon Thursday, the other two fires had merged into one.
Raw video: Fire near Husum
KGW Reporters Pat Dooris, Katherine Cook and Mark Hanrahan contributed to this report
View Husum fire in a larger map
