Wildfires prompt mandatory evacuation of town of Nespelem
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July 13, 2021
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FILE Winds fan the Rattlesnake Canyon Fire burning along the banks of Lake Roosevelt on the Colville Indian Reservation near Miles, Wash., Tuesday, July 8, 2003. (AP Photo/Jeff T. Green)Associated Press
NESPELEM, Wash. (AP) Several wildfires are burning in northcentral Washington state, prompting an evacuation order for the town of Nespelem on the Colville Indian Reservation.
The state Department of Natural Resources said there were power outages in the area and phone lines are down.
Okanogan County Emergency Management said Nespelem, Buffalo Lake, Cache Creek and surrounding areas are under mandatory evacuation notices. State Route 155 is open for people to get out. Officials do not want people to wait for door to door notifications, officials said.
KXLY
July 13, 2021 4:16 PM Esther Bower
Updated:
NESPELEM, Wash. “I started getting emotional. I start crying and I’m like, ‘Come on, please pray. ”
Relying on prayers to persevere that’s how Barbara Cox is trying to move forward after fleeing her home in Nespelem with her 20-month old daughter.
“In the last 30 years, I haven’t seen a fire like this,” said Cox.
Her daughter has asthma and Barbara isn’t sure when she’ll be able to go back home.
“I just don’t want my daughter around that, because breathing in all that black smoke is making her health a lot worse,” said Cox.