Thousands of Washington residents fled their homes over the weekend after more wildfires broke out in the state, CNN reports.
The Nakia Creek Fire started October 9 on Larch Mountain in the Yacolt Burn State Forest, which is northeast of Camas in Clark County. Firefighters were reportedly making good progress on the blaze until this past weekend.
Fierce winds, low humidity, and unusually hot temperatures whipped up the fire, which burned 2,000 acres within hours on Sunday (October 16), according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Reporters say nearly 3,000 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders by Sunday night, while over 29,000 were told to get ready to leave. The Nakia Creek Fire is 5% contained, per the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA).
Officials reported more fires across the state, including the Loch Katrine Fire that's 35 miles away from Seattle. CRESA said they heard about "additional fires near Chelatchie Prairie and Sunset Campground within Clark County and several in Skamania County."
This comes as residents in Western Washington are still grappling with declining air quality due to wildfire smoke choking the air.
“With the current weather patterns here in the PNW, we have another good week of potential fire weather,” CRESA said.
CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford expects winds to lighten while above-average temperatures linger for the next few days. Rain may be coming the following weekend, bringing much-needed to for firefighters.