Firefighters are trying to control as many as 110 wildfires burning around Central Washington Monday with no rain in sight.
The fires are all burning in Chelan, Okanogan, Kittitas and Yakima counties. Fires in Chelan and Okanogan counties have been grouped together into what firefighters are calling the Wenatchee River Complex fires.
The largest fire in the Wenatchee River Complex is the Byrd Canyon Wildfire near Entiat. It began as three separate fires on Sunday, then converged and exploded to 6,500 acres.
Twenty homes in the path of Byrd Canyon fire are under a mandatory evacuation order. Dozens more are threatened by the fire.
About 20 miles to the south, the Canyons Fire near Wenatchee is also threatening a number of homes. About 500 acres have burned and 180 homes nearby have been evacuated.
One outbuilding, a shed attached to a ranch, was destroyed by the Canyons Fire.
The local Red Cross chapter has set up shelter for evacuees at the Wenatchee Seventh-Day Adventist Church, located at 508 North Western Avenue. Evacuees can also call the Red Cross at 509-663-3907.
A command post for the Wenatchee River Complex is located at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery.
Lightning on Saturday is believed to have sparked all of the fires across Central and Eastern Washington.
In addition to the fires in Central Washington, nearly 30,000 acres of sagebrush and grass has caught fire near Grand Coulee Dam. Another fire has burned 200 acres of sagebrush and grass near Odessa in Lincoln County.
Rains that fell in Seattle Sunday night didn't make it over the Cascades. The National Weather Service said the same front will bring gusty winds Monday that could fan all of the Washington wildfires.
