The Table Mountain fire has prompted the Kittitas County Sheriff to evacuated the town of Liberty.
Fire officials say that in addition to Liberty, the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest east of State Highway 97 and the Naneum State Forest were ordered evacuated Saturday. Natural resources department officials had ordered the state forest closed earlier in the day to help firefighters.
"We've seen an uptick in emergency calls at night when fire is visible for miles and flames can appear too close for comfort," said Undersheriff Clay Myers Myers, adding that the department's top priority is the health and safety of people. "We are keeping a close, minute-to-minute watch on the fire, and if it threatens to come near homes and property, we'll let people know right away."
Early Saturday morning, fires in the Table Mountain area merged and now are estimated to be more than 2500 acres.
The fire is being managed as part of the Yakima Complex. Nearly 1200 firefighters are working on the fires in Yakima and Kittitas Counties. Firefighters are battling more than 100 fires in Kittitas and Yakima Counties, which were sparked by lightning last week.
For more information visit www.inciweb.org/incident/3256. Residents affected by the fire can contact the Emergency Operations Center at 509-933-8305. For fire information contact the Yakima Complex Information Office at 509-925-1193.
The Wenatchee Complex fire has forced more people from their homes. On Saturday, about 80 more homeowners were told to evacuate.
Firefighters say the flames above Tripp Canyon near Mission Creek Road are moving down. Crews are doing burnout operations, taking away any sources of fuel from the fire.
A Community Fire Briefing is planned at Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee on Sunday today at 7 p.m.
Nearly 3,000 firefighters from across the state are working 15-hour days.
The governor has issued a state of emergency and ordered a ban on all outdoor burning in Eastern Washington.
