Wash. state wildfire prompts overnight evacuations

DAVENPORT, Wash. — Rain overnight came to the aid of firefighters at a wildfire in Washington state that prompted an evacuation order for dozens of homes overnight.

Lincoln County sheriff's deputy Scott Blomgren said the rain early Wednesday should help in the battle against the fire, which has burned more than 24 square miles in a sparsely populated region in eastern Washington.

Tuesday night, fire spokesman Mark Morrow said an evacuation order had been issued in the Hawk Creek Ranch area, about 10 miles northwest of Davenport. Nearly 50 homes were in the evacuation area. The order was lifted Wednesday morning.

No injuries were reported. About 390 firefighters and support personnel were on the scene, Morrow said.

The fire began southeast of Creston, Wash., on Monday. The cause had not been determined but Morrow said lightning was a likely suspect. The blaze was burning mostly in grass and sagebrush.

It destroyed an abandoned farmhouse and temporarily closed two highways Monday night.

In Oregon, rain also slowed a stubborn lightning-caused fire on Mount Hood, giving the force of about 500 firefighters a break. Crews don't expect the rain to put the blaze out completely, though, because dry debris on the forest floor as deep as 10 inches is smoldering.

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