Canyon Creek Fire: the latest
![(Courtesy of Okanogan County Emergency Management)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
State fire assistance was mobilized Sunday to combat a growing wildfire near the town of Carlton in Okanogan County.
Called the Canyon Creek fire, it had grown to about 1,000 acres by some reports, and threatened structures, crops and infrastructure in the area. One abandoned house was caught up in the blaze, the Okonagan County Emergency Management said in a news release.
Level 3 evacuation orders were in place Sunday from Carlton to Benson Creek and Texas Creek. Level 2 evacuation orders, which advise residents to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, were in place from Benson Creek to Lower Beaver Creek.
The fire began Saturday at about 12:28 p.m. about 1 mile north of Carlton. Saturday night and early Sunday morning, it crossed state Route 153 and the Methow River near Ross Road and burned north to just past Taylor Road near milepost 26.
Mobilization specialists from the state Fire Protection Bureau ordered four strike teams to join local firefighters in combating the fire, the Washington State Patrol said in a news release.
Okanogan PUD shut off electricity from Twisp to Libby Creek due to burned power poles and downed lines, the release said. Power was isolated and restored to most users Sunday morning, and crews planned to replace the burned poles Sunday.
Evacuation shelters were in effect in Twisp at the Community Center and at Brewster High School, emergency crews said.
The area was the site of the devastating Twisp Fire, which killed three firefighters in 2015 and critically injured another.