The Blue Creek Fire burning about 10 miles east of Walla Walla, Washington, has grown to more than 5,500 acres. Evacuations remain in place as about 600 firefighters try to head off the flames burning in grass, bush and timber.
Sarah Foster, a spokesperson at incident command, said the fire has grown to the southeast, and one goal is to stop it before it gets to the Umatilla National Forest.
“Basically we have plan A, plan B and plan C. And they’re working ahead of the fire,” Foster explained. “Our goal is to stay about three days ahead. So we’ve got a lot of resources that are building contingency lines and trying to remove vegetation and create a good solid line in advance of the fire. That’s where a lot of our hand crews are working and we’re continuing to strengthen that line every day.”
Foster said the federal government considers this the highest-priority fire in the Northwest.
One home and several out-buildings burned after the fire started Monday. It’s zero percent contained and investigators say it was human-caused.
