Kaiser Canyon Fire Explodes To Over 106,000 Acres In Hot & Windy Weather

Hot and windy conditions on Thursday helped the Kaiser Canyon Fire enlarge by almost 20,000 acres on the Colville Indian Reservation.

The blaze was sparked by lighting eight days ago and is now officially estimated at over 106,483 acres with only 3% containment.

New Level 3 evacuations have been issued for several areas near the fire's western edges, including homes on Kartar Road and along State Route 155 in the vicinity of Disautel Pass.

Officials with Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 2 have confirmed 13 structures have been destroyed by the flames, with hundreds of others still being threatened.

A partial closure of State Route 155 that's been in place for over a week has now been extended to cover 31 miles of the highway - from two miles north of Nespelem to one mile east of Omak, including all of Disautel Pass.

Several other major roadways in the area also remain shut down, including most of Columbia River Road and all of Cache Creek Road from Nespelem to its junction with State Route 21 north of Keller.

Triple-digit temperatures, gusty winds, and low relative humidities have combined to increase fire activity over the past 48 hours, with the blaze now creeping to within roughly five miles of Keller.

Fire managers say they are planning continued aerial suppression in form of water and retardant drops, while firefighters on the ground will build containment lines and persist in structure protection efforts today and through the weekend, with a total of 656 personnel assigned to the blaze.

Smoke impacts from the fire continue to be widespread, including poor air quality and reduced visibilities in parts of the Columbia Basin and the Spokane Valley, as well as Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties, and as far away as the Idaho Panhandle.

Earlier this week, one firefighter reportedly suffered a medical emergency while battling the flames and had to be airlifted to a hospital in Grand Coulee for treatment, but no other injuries or deaths have been attributed to the fire.

Two emergency shelters in Omak and one in Coulee Dam are still hosting evacuees, and shelters for impacted animals have been opened in Grand Coulee, Okanogan, and Omak.

A multitude of local wildlife and larger domestic animals have also been disturbed by the blaze, and motorists in the area are being advised to remain vigilant for deer, elk, horses, livestock, and even bears and possibly moose on or near the roadway.