Firefighters in central Washington state continued battling a fire that erupted Sunday in Wenatchee

(29 Jun 2015) Residents of several hundred homes in central Washington state fled when a blaze erupted Sunday outside the city of Wenatchee and spread out of control in hot and windy weather, destroying about two dozen structures, including houses. Evacuations were mainly in the north end of town.
There were no immediate reports of injuries as the blaze burned more than 4 square miles about 120 miles east of Seattle.
Fire trucks poured water on a burning warehouse in downtown Wenatchee on Monday, 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
"We heard four or five really big, loud explosions," Don Parkins, a Wenatchee resident, said. "I was pretty concerned with the wind and the embers. A lot of embers were carrying over. We watered everything down."
Eastern Washington has been experiencing temperatures in the 100s. Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation that allows the quick use of state resources to respond to wildfires.
The Red Cross set up a shelter in the gymnasium of Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee. "Last night we had about 155 stay the night, and for the Red Cross that's a really big shelter for us," said Red Cross worker Megan Snow.

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