A 533-acre wildfire burning in the Columbia River Gorge east of Stevenson led to road closures and evacuations.
On Monday, the Tunnel Five fire closed state Highway 14 in both directions from Milepost 55 near Underwood to Milepost 65 near Hood River Bridge Road, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. Travelers should use Interstate 84 as a detour.
“Eastbound travelers can detour at Bridge of the Gods to Hood River Bridge. Westbound travelers can detour at Hood River Bridge to Bridge of the Gods. Use caution in the area,” WSDOT said on the website.
The fire started about 11 a.m. Sunday, according to a bulletin from the Southeast Washington incident Management Team. “Hot, windy conditions coupled with extreme terrain led to rapid spread in the afternoon.”
The wildfire was 0 percent contained as of 7 a.m. Monday. A total of 26 engines, five crews, 19 water tenders and some 166 personnel have been assigned to the fire, with more crews expected to arrive throughout the day Monday, according to the incident management team.
Several structures have been lost but no specifics were released by the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office. Level 3 Go Now evacuation orders were put in place Sunday for a 2-mile perimeter around the fire. Level 1 Get Ready orders are in place for Klickitat County east of the fire.
About 1,000 residents have been impacted by the fire and evacuation orders, Heather Appelhof, a Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team spokesperson, told The Oregonian.
The Skamania fairgrounds has been set up with the Red Cross on site to assist with anyone who has been evacuated. Residents can register for emergency notifications at skamaniasheriff.com.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs, saying the fire threatened to cause enough destruction to be considered a major disaster. This is the first such funding approved to fight Washington wildfires this year.
Warnings
“Wildfires are a ‘no fly zone’ for drones,” the Southeast Washington incident Management Team said in a bulletin regarding the fire. “If you fly, WE CAN’T.”
A boil water order has been issued in Underwood because of a loss of pressure in the water system that may lead to contamination.
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag warning for Skamania County, along with the easternmost portion of Clark County and parts of Cowlitz County. The Red Flag warning will be in effect until at least 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Clark County is under a heat advisory, with temperatures around 85 to 95 expected Tuesday and Wednesday.
Clark County remains under a recreational burn ban. County policy is to ban outdoor burning from July 15 through Sept. 30 each year. However, unusually hot and dry weather may result in bans beginning earlier or ending later.
According to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, nearly 90 percent of wildfires in the United States are human caused via burning debris, fireworks, discarded cigarettes or equipment malfunctions.
