62 wildfires blaze through Western U.S. states: fanned by strong winds and searing temps

August 14, 2012 – WASHINGTON – Whipped by high winds, a wildfire in central Washington state has scorched 26,500 acres and destroyed at least 60 homes, officials said Tuesday. The fire raging near Cle Elum is one of several devastating Western states this week. Colorado paid the price earlier this summer. Now, new wildfires are burning through sagebrush, grass and beetle-killed lodgepole pines in California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Idaho. In all, 62 fires, including 16 new large fires, were burning as of Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service reported. They have destroyed dozens of homes and are threatening many more. Washington’s Taylor Bridge Fire began as a brush fire Monday afternoon. By midnight, it had swallowed up 16,000 acres, and by Tuesday, 16,500 acres, or 41 square miles, were burning. Authorities have already evacuated people near the Taylor Bridge Fire and called for more evacuations Tuesday, according to the Kittitas County Fire & Rescue District 7. CNN affiliate KING reported 400 homes have been evacuated as winds shifted, blowing toward several pockets of homes and subdivisions. In Idaho, a blaze has killed a 20-year-old firefighter. Two other firefighters have been injured in Oregon and California. Anne Veseth died Sunday while fighting the Steep Canyon Fire near Orofino, said Phil Sammon of the Forest Service. He said the death was accidental but could not confirm how it happened. However, CNN affiliate KTVB said Veseth was killed by a falling tree. Residents of Veseth’s hometown, Moscow, remembered the young college student as someone who always gave back to community. “This is a stark reminder of how dangerous the business is that we are in,” Sammon said. “We are extremely saddened by this loss.” Residents evacuate as hundreds of fire fighters battle California wildfires. On Tuesday, the fire danger spiked with searing temperatures and single-digit humidity across Western states. In some places, winds were gusting up to 40 miles per hour. –CNN