Tonasket residents warned to ‘evacuate immediately’

Residents in Tonasket should leave town immediately because of an approaching fire, Okanogan officials said this evening. The Okanogan County Emergency Management office issued a Level 3 evacuation and posted on social media that residents should go south on Highway 97 to go to the Red Cross Shelter at Brewster High School, 503 S. 7th Street. All residents within 10 miles east of Tonasket and south of Havillah Road should also evacuate. Residents within 10 miles west of Davis Canyon south of Spring Coulee Road near Okanogan have also been told to evacuate, as well as all of Chiliwist. Highway 20 is closed between Tonasket and Aeneas Valley Road. Emergency Management spokeswoman Kris Rietmann said several fires are burning in the area. The Lime Belt fire is burning west of Okanogan. The Tunk Block fire is burning east of Tonasket and has jumped Highway 20 and is heading north, Rietmann said. Both fires are part of the Okanogan Complex of five fires, which also includes the Twisp River Fire that forced the evacuation of Twisp and Winthrop Wednesday. A total of 96,000 acres have burned. “We’re sure it’s gone well over 100,000 (acres) today,” said fire information spokesman Rick Isaacson Thursday evening. “All of them have been active because it’s been breezy off and on.” The winds have been shifting, making fire growth and direction unpredictable. “Last night was a hell storm and they’re anticipating tonight could be the same thing,” Isaacson said. Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said fire is all around Tonasket and Okanogan. “We’ve definitely got fires everywhere,” he said. “It’s just crazy up here. That’s the biggest problem. We don’t know where it’s coming next.” The towns of Omak and Okanogan are under Level 2 evacuations, which means residents have been advised to be packed and ready to go.