ELLENSBURG, Wa — As helicopters scooped up buckets of water to drop on the Snag Canyon wildfire, we found Reggie Ross, his wife, Tammy, and three grandchildren parked just outside a roadblock, looking up at the fire.
Ross said, “Just making sure my house didn’t go up.”
They were evacuated a few hours after a bolt of lightning hit their hillside, sparking the flames that moved within a quarter mile of their home.
179 homes are now under evacuation orders north of Ellensburg.
Tammy Nelson said, “They told me it is time to go, we don’t have any time.”
Her family was only able to collect some pictures, clothing and bedding before it had to leave.
Bob Lund was forced to move livestock out of his ranch and find temporary shelter for his dogs at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds.
He said, “It was time to leave, it was just too hot and too dangerous.”
The local sheriff estimates eight to 12 homes and outbuildings have burned so far. Bob Lund admits he doesn't know whether his ranch survived.
What he does know is that the flames were so close that planes were dropping fire retardant right onto his property, trying to save it.
Lund said, “Bombers were coming in and dropping the orange stuff, repainting the barn, the shop, the house, and one ram, sheep.”
KIRO
