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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Central Washington wildfire burns dozens of homes

Flames surround a house Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, on a hillside above Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash. Wildland firefighters on-site advised that the house survived the fire. The fast-moving wildfire has burned 60 homes across nearly 40 square miles of central Washington grassland, timber and sagebrush. No injuries have been reported but more than 400 people have been forced to flee. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)
Flames surround a house Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, on a hillside above Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash. Wildland firefighters on-site advised that the house survived the fire. The fast-moving wildfire has burned 60 homes across nearly 40 square miles of central Washington grassland, timber and sagebrush. No injuries have been reported but more than 400 people have been forced to flee. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)
Associated Press
CLE ELUM, Wash. — A fast-moving wildfire burned 60 homes across about 40 square miles of central Washington grassland, timber and sagebrush. Fire commanders estimated tpday the blaze has burned at least 26,000 acres since it started Monday afternoon east of the town of Cle Elum. So far, no injuries have been reported but hundreds of people have been evacuated. The fire crept within six miles of Ellensburg, about 75 miles east of Seattle. The fire is not contained. State officials dispatched additional firefighters and equipment to the blaze from around the state. The Kittitas County sheriff’s office warned those in the fire’s path to evacuate. Few people took advantage of an emergency shelter in Cle Elum. The fire also threatened a chimpanzee sanctuary, a television station reported. It burned some property but the chimps were OK, Diana Goodrich of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest told the station. The state Transportation Department said a 14-mile section of U.S. Highway 97 was closed because of the fire.