TROUTDALE, Ore. – A growing Oregon wildfire covered parts of Portland’s metropolitan area Tuesday with ash and prompted the shutdown of a lengthy stretch of highway through the state’s scenic Columbia River Gorge.
It was one of dozens of wildfires burning in Western U.S. states that sent smoke into cities from Seattle to Denver – prompting health warnings and cancellations of outdoor activities for children by many school districts.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, a federal agency that coordinates wildfire-fighting, said 80 large fires were burning on 2,200 square miles (in nine Western states.
The 16-square mile fire east of Portland forced hundreds of home evacuations. Embers from the fire drifted in the air across the Columbia River – sparking blazes in neighboring Washington state. The wildfire grew rapidly late Monday and overnight, giving authorities just minutes to warn residents on the Oregon side of the river to leave their homes.
People in Oregon covered their faces to shield themselves from the smoke and the ashes falling on them. “You can’t really stand outside without getting rained on” by ash, said Joanna Fisher as she walked to work at a Troutdale, Oregon, naturopathic clinic with Calla Wanser, who was wearing a red bandanna around her mouth to keep the ash out of her lungs.
Elsewhere, a fast-moving wildfire in northern Utah swept down a canyon Tuesday morning – destroying structures, forcing evacuations and closing highways.
A least one home burned and more than 1,000 people were evacuated as high winds fed the flames in the canyon north of Salt Lake City.
A fire in Montana’s Glacier National Park emptied its busiest tourist spot as wind gusts drove the flames toward the doorstep of an iconic lodge.
Outside California’s Yosemite National Park, a wind-fueled fire made its way deeper into a grove of 2,700-year-old giant sequoia trees on Labor Day. Officials said the fire had gone through about half the grove but had not killed any trees.
Elsewhere in Northern California, a fire destroyed 72 homes and forced the evacuation of about 2,000 people from their houses. The fire burned 14 square miles in the community of Helena about 150 miles south of Oregon.
In Washington state, the U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to assign 200 active-duty soldiers to help fight a wildfire. Civilian firefighting commanders said Tuesday the soldiers from Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, would undergo four days of training and then be sent to a complex of 14 wildfires in the Umpqua National Forest that have burned 47 square miles.
And a wildfire burning near Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state grew to more than 29 square miles and heavy smoke blanketed many cities in Washington state.
Mandatory evacuations were announced for the fire near Mount Rainier, including the Crystal Mountain ski resort, which closed Monday because of smoke.
The air quality in Spokane, Washington, was rated as hazardous Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service says it was likely to get worse as wind shifts bring in smoke from fires in Canada, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
People in the Spokane, Washington, region were advised to stay remain indoors.
Air-quality alerts were issued for parts of Idaho as well.
In Oregon, people living in about 700 homes in and around the Columbia River Gorge have been forced to evacuate the area. Others have been warned to get ready as flames burn trees and brush in one of the state’s biggest tourist attractions.
“The Gorge is our crown jewel and it’s our playground – and we’re very, very sad,” said Multnomah County Board of Supervisors chairwoman Deborah Kafoury.
Associated Press writers Phuong Le in Seattle, Matt Volz in Helena, Montana, and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco contributed to this report
