Two Wildfires Spark In Hot & Windy Conditions In Chelan County

It didn't take long for Wednesday's hot and windy conditions to create havoc for residents in Chelan County.

Within only a few hours after a Red Flag Warning took effect in the mid-afternoon, a pair of wildfires sparked in two separate areas of the county.

The first - dubbed the Apple Acres Fire, broke out at around 3:30 p.m. just off U.S. Highway 97 near the entrance to Wells Dam and rapidly spread in the high winds, prompting a Level 2 evacuation notice for homes on Antoine Creek Road, which remain in effect this morning.

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The blaze also led to a five-mile stretch of U.S. 97 being reduced to a single lane with a pilot car guiding traffic, which also remains in effect at this time.

The other fire - the White Pine Fire, ignited about an hour later around 4:30 p.m. in the upper Tumwater Canyon area near Lake Wenatchee.

That wind-whipped blaze also quickly led to Level 2 evacuation notices for homes on Gill Creek and White Pine Roads, and the entire community of Merritt...as well as a Level 1 Fire Advisory for residents on the north side of U.S. Highway 2 from White Pine to milepost 80 - all of which are still in effect to start Thursday.

Officials say the White Pine Fire had torched about 10 acres as of midnight, while the Apple Acres Fire had blackened roughly 2,000 acres and was expected to continue growing overnight.

Multiple state and local agencies mobilized to battle the fires, whose causes have not been disclosed and are assumed to be under investigation.

Thus far, no structures have been reported damaged or destroyed, and no injuries have been reported.