The largest wildfire in the state of Washington had occurred on July 14 and has now spread across 379 square miles in north-central portion of the state. USA Today said that the Carlton Complex Fire is now bigger than four times the size of Seattle and larger than Yacolt Burn, which was then the biggest on record by consuming 238,920 acres in southwestern Washington in 1902.
Although Yacolt Burn had killed 38 people and had wolfed down acres of forestlands in southwestern Washington, it has been reported that around 200 homes have been lost, 300,000 acres have been burned as of early Monday and that only 2% of the fire has been contained by authorities.
The Los Angeles Times added that the Carlton Complex Fire has already claimed its first fatality in the person of 67 year-old Robert Koczewski, who had fought the fire that was threatening his home.
Okanogan County Sheriff Frank T. Rogers was quoted as saying on Monday, "(Koczewski) and his wife had been the fighting the fire for three days. She said no fire trucks had come through. They did everything they could to save their home and they did. But on Saturday, he had a heart attack."
USA Today said that firefighters who have responded to the wildfire had been hampered with the loss of electricity in the area due to downed power poles and lines. It also resulted to difficulty in coordinated efforts to contain the fire, as it had affected communications. There has no word yet on when utilities will be restored.
On the other hand, forecasters said firefighters will be aided by the weather, as calmer winds and cooler temperatures are on their way to the wildfire region. Moreover a slight chance of rain is expected to hit on Tuesday in the area, and downpour is more likely to hit on Wednesday. Meanwhile KING-TV metereologists urged the over 3,500 personnel who have been tasked to contain the wildfire then to look out for lightning that could spark more fires.
