WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) - From just across the Wenatchee River, Dominick Bonny watched a whole neighborhood in his central Washington town burn as a wildfire destroyed two dozen structures and forced hundreds to flee.
"With the wind blowing away from us, it was like we were watching a natural disaster within arm's reach," he said.
The wildfires hit parts of central and eastern Washington over the weekend as the state is struggling with a severe drought. Mountain snowpack is at extremely low levels, and about one-fifth of the state's rivers and streams are at record low levels.
Eastern Washington has been experiencing temperatures into the 100s, and last week Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation that allows state resources to quickly be brought in to respond to wildfires.
Washington's struggles with wildfires come as Alaska, its fellow Pacific Northwest state, is facing more and harsher wildfires this year.
In Wenatchee, the wildfire fueled by high temperatures and strong winds roared into town Sunday afternoon. The blaze ignited in brush just outside Wenatchee, quickly burning out of control and leading about businesses about 120 miles east of Seattle to evacuate customers.
Rainfall on Monday provided relief, but hot, dry conditions will challenge crews trying to get a handle on the flames that burned more than an estimated 4 square miles, officials said. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, but no injuries to residents were reported.
Evacuations were mainly in the north end of town and included a Wal-Mart store, the Chelan County Emergency Management office said. The store did not burn, but several commercial buildings were near the blaze, Washington State Patrol Trooper Darren Wright said.
Emergency management officials late Monday morning also briefly issued a "shelter in place" order after ammonia started leaking from a fruit warehouse. They later said it had dissipated and was no longer a threat.
The Blue Bird warehouse, which uses ammonia for cold-storage, was among a few commercial buildings to burn.
Bonny, who lives just outside Wenatchee, called the speed of the blaze "just mind-blowing."
"We're fine now," Bonny said. "Last night we watched the entire hill burn."
Phil Bentz, who lives on the same side of the river as the fire, said his home hadn't been evacuated. "We were waiting for someone to knock on the door, but they didn't come. So far, so good," Bentz said.
About noon Monday, fire trucks poured water on a burning warehouse in downtown Wenatchee, sending big black clouds into the air over the city. Farther north of town, scorched hillsides showed where the flames were stopped just short of irrigated apple orchards and residential subdivisions.
Officials know the fire started in brush on the edge of town, but they are still trying to determine what sparked it. Sweltering heat above 100 degrees, tinder-dry brush and strong winds helped fuel it.