Those were happy days for us living up there...our son was born at Madigan Airforce Hospital.
Post some pics of your area if you can.
You are making news today...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-08-14/western-wildfires/57051502/1
Yes, it is close to Cle Elum, where I live, but heading away from us.
Here are some links to other articles as well. Also some pictures I posted that I got from another site.
Taylor Bridge Fire Update - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |
Cle Elum wildfire grows - KCPQ This looks like the stretch of road I drove on before they closed it, it was spooky.
CLE ELUM, Wash. As firefighters across the West responded to blazes, efforts in Washington state were made especially difficult Tuesday as wind gusts pushed fast-moving flames through a small town, destroying dozens of houses.
The fire in central Washington has burned about 70 homes, scorching along roughly 40 square miles of grassland, timber and sagebrush, authorities said.
More than 400 people have been evacuated, said Department of Natural Resources Fire Incident Commander Rex Reed. No injuries have been reported, but authorities say that because of wind, heat and dry conditions, the fire danger is extreme.
"We've had a long prolonged dry period three weeks with no precipitation at all," Reed said.
The blaze sparked up at a construction site Monday afternoon near Cle Elum, a small town about 75 miles east of Seattle.
Kittitas County Fire and Rescue Capt. Joe Seemiller said wind made it extremely difficult to turn back the flames.
"Unless Mother Nature helps us out here, we're going to be fighting this awhile," he said.
In Idaho, authorities said a firefighter was killed by a falling tree Sunday. Anne Veseth, a 20-year-old who was in her second season as a firefighter, died as she worked a fire near Orofino, the U.S. Forest Service said.
In Utah, a lightning-sparked fire consumed about 34 square miles, threatened a herd of wild horses and shut down the historic Pony Express Road in the state's western desert.
In California, thousands of firefighters also were contending with dry conditions, strong winds and triple-digit temperatures. The blazes left some areas with smoke lingering in the air.
In Northern California, hundreds of evacuees were allowed to return home as crews made progress against a wildfire that threatened 500 homes in the Spring Valley and Long Valley communities.
In Southern California, a cluster of four lightning-sparked wildfires in northeastern San Diego County stretched to nearly 4 square miles, state fire officials said.
Officials added there is also threat to electrical distribution lines that serve the communities of Borrego Springs, Warner Springs and Ranchita, some 50 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.
Fires across California have also affected some national parks with road and camp closures, including Lassen Volcanic National Park and Joshua Tree National Park.
Outdoor recreationists were also threatened in Washington state. Vacation homes and cabins pepper the scattered forests around Cle Elum, and summer is a popular time to visit the Cascade Mountains.
Brad Rorem and his two sons were at their family cabin high on a hill up a windy, forest road. They were preparing gear to float down the Yakima River and fish when they spotted the blaze under the bridge from their deck.
"It sort of erupted, and the wind was blowing hard in our faces," he said. "It just shot up so fast."
The homes of at least three neighbors were gone, said Rorem, 50.
"We feel really fortunate to have gotten off the mountain in time," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Terry Collins in San Francisco, John Miller in Boise, Idaho; Jeff Barnard in Grants Pass, Ore.; Brian Skoloff in Salt Lake City, Doug Esser in Seattle and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
___
August 14, 2012 07:11 PM EDT
Barb Otte of West Richland holds a neighbors horse as she watches a line of flames head across Red Mountain in West Richland, Wash., late Monday afternoon Aug. 13, 2012. Several of Kelly Arthur-Moores neighbors rushed to help her pull three horses and other pets out of harms way. Thats just what neighbors do, Otte said. Firefighters from several Mid-Columbia agencies attacked the blaze that burned a large portion of the north side of Red Mountain (AP Photo/The Tri-City Herald, Richard Dickin)
A woman sits on the remains of a home that was destroyed in a wildfire the night before Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, on Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash. The fast-moving wildfire has burned 60 homes across nearly 40 square miles of central Washington grassland, timber and sagebrush. No injuries have been reported but more than 400 people have been forced to flee. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Flames from the Taylor Bridge Fire climb the side of Lookout Mountain east of Cle Elum, Wash., Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Daily Record/Brian Myrick )
A firefighting helicopter, operated by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, works to supress flames from the Taylor Bridge Fire east of Cle Elum, Wash., Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Daily Record/Brian Myrick )
isn't that a great revelation to know we are all His saints.
