Kaiser Canyon Fire Spreads To Almost 80,000 Acres, More Homes Possibly Destroyed Near Nespelem

A destructive wildfire that's been burning on the Colville Indian Reservation for almost a week is still raging with very minimal containment.

The Kaiser Canyon Fire was sparked by a lightning strike on July 16 and has since grown to officially cover 79,641 acres with only 3% containment as of early Wednesday (July 22).

A Level 3 evacuation notice remains in effect for dozens of homes in the area, while the town of Nespelem and other locations in the fire's vicinity have now been lowered to a Level 2 notice.

Public Information Officer Bethany Osgood with Kaiser Canyon Fire Information says 15 structures have been destroyed by the blaze, but could not confirm how many of those are primary residences.

Osgood adds the fire was active on its western and eastern flanks overnight, particularly to the east of Nespelem and in the Coyote Creek area, where it's feared that more structures may have been lost, including homes.

Crews are currently conducting sweeps of the area to look for any structures that were destroyed after firefighters made direct attacks and increased structure-protection efforts overnight.

The fire's movements to the east over the past 24 hours have seen it burn to within 15 miles of the town of Keller, as well as further to the west along Columbia River Road, which remains largely closed at this time.

Get our free mobile app

A 15-mile stretch of State Route 155 is also still closed between two miles north of Nespelem and the summit of Disautel Pass, and several other major roads near the fire zone also remain closed, including Buffalo Lake and Cache Creek Roads.

Smoke impacts from the fire have been widespread to include 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.

A Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team is now in charge of the incident and crews have been battling triple-digit temperatures and very low humidities in their struggle to get ahead of the flames this week.

Officials with Spokane County Fire District No. 8 have confirmed that one firefighter had to be airlifted from the fire zone after suffering a medical emergency late Tuesday, but the nature of that emergency has not been released.

Aside from Tuesday's incident, there have been no reports of any other injuries or deaths in connection to the blaze.

Thousands of people have been displaced by the fire and numerous shelters have been opened in both Ferry and Okanogan Counties to assist them.

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