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Saturday, Aug 18, 2012 4:45 AM UTC

Fire evacuees in Wash. and California return home

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Topics: From the Wires,

Fire evacuees in Wash. and California return homeIn this photo taken Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, flames surround a house on a hillside above Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash. A spokesman for the Washington state Department of Natural Resources said the house survived the fire because of the defensible space around the structure with the placement of the driveway and the lack of trees and brush up against the house, preventing flames from reaching it. Firefighters are still working to control the Bridge Taylor Fire and said that it's 25 percent contained. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)(Credit: AP)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of people in Washington and California who fled encroaching flames from wildfires were allowed to return to their homes Friday, and in Washington many were to find out whether their property was spared by a huge blaze that burned out of control for much of the week.

“Some people will find their homes there and others will find homes damaged or even lost,” said Mick Mueller, a spokesman at the fire command center.

Meanwhile, some residents of rural central Idaho were told to evacuate by late Friday as blazes continued to burn throughout the West.

In Washington, people were returning to the south and east sides of the 35-square mile Taylor Bridge Fire near the town of Cle Elum in the Cascade Range, about 75 miles east of Seattle. The 22,700-acre fire was 40 percent contained late Friday.

“The folks will have to be working among fallers dropping hazardous trees and utility crews working to get the power back on in there,” Mueller said. “And firefighters are still working in there trying to put out hot spots.”

About 900 firefighters with eight helicopters continued building a line around the fire.

The fire broke out Monday at a bridge construction project and exploded through dry grass, brush and trees. Authorities said Friday the blaze had burned 48 residential properties and 15 other structures on the east side of the Cascades. The fire burned on the north side of Interstate 90. More than 400 people evacuated.

Firefighters hope to have the fire contained Sunday.

But the National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for high wildfire danger in effect through Saturday night on the east side of the Cascades. In addition to the hot, dry conditions, there’s a chance for dry thunderstorms Saturday evening with lightning that could start more fires.

“We’re kind of on edge about that,” Mueller said.

In other states:

— Idaho authorities have told some Custer County residents to evacuate by Friday afternoon because of a nearing wildfire. To the south, in Elmore County, firefighters were still working to protect two threatened towns from another huge blaze. The Custer County sheriff’s office issued an evacuation notice Thursday night, warning residents from Sunbeam Store to Loon Creek Summit that if they don’t evacuate by 5 p.m. Friday officials cannot guarantee their safety.

—In California, hundreds of people who were ordered to leave their rural homes because of San Diego County wildfires were being allowed to return. State fire officials said evacuation orders were lifted Friday for about 400 people in the communities of Ranchita and San Felipe. Flames came within a half-mile of some houses but none burned.

___

Associated Press writers Doug Esser in Seattle and Jessie L. Bonner in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

More Nicholas K. Geranios.

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