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Noordwesten VS geteisterd door bosbranden

In het noordwesten van de Verenigde Staten woeden al een week tientallen grote bosbranden die de brandweer nauwelijks onder controle krijgt. Vooral de staten Washington, Idaho en Oregon hebben last van droogte en harde wind, waardoor het vuur zich makkelijk uitbreidt.

Duizenden mensen zijn geëvacueerd. Meer dan honderd huizen zijn inmiddels verwoest. Met name het gebied rondom het toeristische plaatsje Chelan in Washington wordt getroffen. Bezoekers blijven weg en het vuur heeft onder meer een opslagplaats voor miljoenen appels verwoest.

De verwachting is dat de wind wat zal gaan liggen, wat de bestrijding van het vuur makkelijker maakt. De komende dagen worden tweehonderd militairen ingezet om de brandweer te helpen.

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Wildfires leave path of destruction
CHELAN, Wash. (AP) - Big wildfires burning Monday near the central Washington resort town of Chelan were taking a toll on the region's main economic engines - tourism and the apple industry.

Visitors stayed away and a big fruit warehouse filled with apples was destroyed by the fires, imperiling hundreds of jobs.

Several large fires burning near Chelan have scorched more than 155 square miles, destroyed an estimated 50 homes Friday and Saturday and forced about 1,500 residents to flee. Scores of homes remain threatened, and mandatory evacuation orders remained in effect for more than 2,700 people in the Chelan area.

The Chelan fires were just some of the many destructive blazes burning throughout the Northwest. In northern Idaho, more than 40 homes were lost near the town of Kamiah, and in Oregon a lightning-sparked blaze on the Malheur National Forest has grown to more than 60 square miles and has destroyed at least 26 homes.

So many fires are burning across the West that the National Interagency Fire Center announced Monday that 200 active-duty military troops are being called in to help. They will be sent to a fire on Aug. 23.

The blazes near Chelan are burning through grass, brush and timber, fire spokeswoman Janet Pierce said. The fires remain uncontained, she said.

"Today our focus is on structure protection," she said Monday.

The flames come in the midst of the summer tourist season in the scenic town located along Lake Chelan in the Cascade Range. The fires also threaten apple orchards and packing warehouses in the heart of the state's apple belt during what has been a summer of drought in the Northwest.

Chelan Fruit lost one of its major fruit-packing warehouses in Chelan to wildfire on Friday. The warehouse contained 1.8 million pounds of apples that were lost and employed about 800 people, said Mac Riggan, director of marketing for the company.

The employees are being sent to Chelan Fruit's other facilities in the region, Riggan said. "'Our other plant in Chelan is fully operational," he said.

Washington is by far the nation's largest apple producer, and the industry produced more than 140 million cartons of apples last year, of which perhaps 6 million remain in warehouses, Riggan said.

"It's not a major loss to the industry," Riggan said. "It is to us."

Washington farmers grossed about $2 billion from the apple crop last year, and late-season apples tend to sell at a discount as buyers are waiting for new fruit, he said.

"It's like selling 450,000 cases in one shot," Riggan said of the loss. "It's not going to hurt the apple industry. It may help them (if prices rise)."

The air was clouded with smoke in Spokane, about 150 miles east of the Chelan fire, on Monday. Air quality was expected to remain in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" range for at least the next couple of days because of the Chelan fire and other fires, according to the Spokane Regional Health District, which serves the metropolitan area of nearly 500,000 people.

"Smoke from wildfires is especially harmful for those with health conditions like asthma. We recommend that people who are sensitive to poor air quality limit their time outdoors," said Dr. Joel McCullough, SRHD health officer.

Chelan fire spokesman Wayne Patterson said air tankers established lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan.

Meanwhile, the Washington National Guard joined the firefighting effort after a request for assistance from the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Two Black Hawk helicopters arrived Friday and five 20-person hand crews arrived Sunday evening to join 350 firefighters battling one of the state's most active fires, Cougar Creek, on the southeastern slopes of Mount Adams.

"The Guard's help now is vital," said Mary Verner, Washington state DNR's deputy for wildfire.

"We've been expecting another devastating wildfire season, and have had our personnel and equipment ready so we can get them out the door the moment we're asked for help," said Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, commander of the Washington National Guard.

In northern Idaho on Monday more than 700 firefighters along with 40 fire engines and four helicopters were trying to protect homes from flames but residents along an 11-mile section of U.S. Highway 12 were told to be ready to flee.

On the Idaho-Oregon border some 800 firefighters had a giant 443-square-mile wildfire 70 percent contained. However, fire officials warned that strong winds and low humidity, which can cause extreme fire activity, were likely to hit southern Idaho throughout most of Monday. The week-old fire has scorched grassland needed for cattle and also primary habitat for sage grouse, a bird under consideration for federal protections.

Better weather helped firefighters battling wildfires in eastern Oregon. Though the fires are far from contained, higher humidity and lighter winds slowed the spread of the flames Sunday.

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Three firefighthers die in blaze

Shifting winds unexpectedly turned a blaze back on fire crews near Spokane, Washington, Wednesday afternoon, killing at least three firefighters and injuring another three.

The firefighters died while battling a new blaze that ignited near the towns of Twisp and Winthrop, Washington, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers told NBC news.

“I was just told that three firefighters died while battling the Twisp fire and four were injured. My heart breaks over the loss of life," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee lamented in a statement. "I know all Washington joins me and Trudi in sending our prayers to the families of these brave firefighters. They gave their lives to protect others. It was their calling, but the loss for their families is immense and I know the community will come together to support them. We will also keep the injured firefighters in our prayers. The conditions throughout the area remain extremely dangerous and I hope residents and visitors will heed evacuation orders or other emergency directions.”

One of the injured firefighters was transported to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, Washington, and remains in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg confirmed to NBC.

Meanwhile, a wildfire in eastern Oregon that destroyed 36 homes and threatened 500 more became the nation's top priority for firefighting resources.

The alert for the fire about 150 miles east of Portland was based on the danger to people and homes and the closure of a highway that is a major artery for the region and cuts through the fire perimeter, said Carol Connolly, spokeswoman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.

Since starting from a lightning strike last week, the fire has burned through 75 square miles, mostly in the Malheur National Forest. There are 649 firefighters assigned to the blaze, one of 11 large fires burning across Oregon.

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and Gov. Kate Brown were to visit the fire command post on Wednesday at the Grant County Fairgrounds, where food, clothing and household goods for victims were being handed out.

Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers confirmed the deaths of three firefighters battling a wildfire near Twisp on Wednesday evening. He said he was not immediately releasing further details.

The news came after officials urged people in the popular outdoor recreation centers of Twisp and Winthrop to evacuate as a complex of fires in the area covered about 50 square miles. The towns have a combined population of about 1,300.

The town of Conconully, home to about 200 people, also was evacuated.