A wildfire fueled by high temps and strong winds roared into a central Washington neighborhood, forcing more than a thousand people to flee their homes and destroying a dozen structures, authorities said early Monday.
The blaze sparked Sunday afternoon was still burning out of control 12 hours later, said Rich Magnussen, a spokesman for the Chelan County Emergency Management office.
At least a thousand people have left their homes in Wenatchee, about 120 miles east of Seattle.
“We’ve got hundreds of homes under evacuation notices,” he said.
The office said the evacuations were mainly in the north end of town, and included a Walmart store.
So far, at least a dozen structures — mainly houses — have been destroyed.
“It’s probably going to turn out to be more than that,” he said.
Firefighters from around the region were on the scene and more headed there.
