Fast growing wildfire in Washington State leads to evacuations

Authorities say that residents of 600 homes near Leavenworth, Washington have been told to evacuate immediately because of a quickly growing forest fire, and that more people have been put on evacuation alert, meaning they will have to leave if the situation gets worse.

Officials say that the Red Cross will be using the First Baptist Church in Leavenworth as an emergency shelter.

The 1,300 hectare Chiwaukum Creek Fire is burning north of the town of Leavenworth, and the fire has forced a 15 mile stretch of Highway 2 to be closed.

A spokesperson with Chelan County emergency management stated that they did not know when Highway 2 would be reopened.

Although the size of the fire and poor difficulty made it difficult to assess the situation, officials have said that no homes had been lost so far.

The Chiwaukum Creek Fire is one of several fires burning in Eastern Washington. 20 different counties in the state have declared a state of emergency due to forest fires and high temperatures.

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