Fires: Ash falling like snow

Update at 5:05 p.m. Wildfire destroyed two homes in the Methow Valley today, the Methow Valley News reports. A community meeting about the wildfires raging around the area was scheduled for 7 p.m. in Twisp.East of Leavenworth, the Chiwaukum Creek fire ballooned to over fives times its initial size on Wednesday — blazing through 6,638 acres completely uncontained, according to fire officials. Residents of close to 900 homes near Leavenworth have been told to evacuate the area. U.S. 2 has been shut down between Stevens Pass and Leavenworth. Smoke from the fire is billowing 25,000 feet into the air. “There's a huge cloud of smoke above us," Don Hurst, a retired firefighter who near Leavenworth, told King5. "The winds started to pick up a little. It's just like snowfall here with the ash coming down. "At least nine helicopters were dumping water over the flames around noon, with additional helicopters expected to join the effort later today, a fire information officer told Leavenworth radio station KOHO. The flames were too intense for firefighters to approach on the ground, so they were concentrating on building firebreaks in an attempt to stop the fire from spreading. An estimated 1,000 firefighters are on the line.The Chiwaukum Creek fire is one of three fires in the Mills Canyon Complex of blazes; the other two are located closer to Entiat. The biggest wildfire, the Mills Canyon fire, is 40 percent contained.The Red Cross established an emergency shelter at First Baptist Church in Leavenworth. Evacuees who require a safe place to house their pets can contact Club Pet. Air4 is flying over the Chiwaukum Creek fire, which is threatening hundreds of homes in central Washington. pic.twitter.com/L1sgGPCzT5— KOMO News (@komonews) July 17, 2014