Crews at scene of 1,000-acre brush fire north of Lyle

Firefighters from two states have been battling a 1,000-acre wildfire that was reported about 12:30 p.m. Thursday north of Lyle, in Klickitat County southwest of Goldendale.

No one had been reported injured Thursday night, but folks living in homes in the area of state Highway 142 and the Klickitat River have been notified of the blaze, said a dispatcher with the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office. The Lions Club in Lyle is housing those who evacuated their homes.

As of 9 p.m.Thursday, traffic on state Highway 14 had not been affected and the blaze was headed north toward the town of Klickitat, the dispatcher said.

A 10-mile segment of state Highway 142 heading north from Lyle was closed Thursday afternoon because of the grass fire and smoke, said a bulletin from the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The fire started on the west side of the Klickitat and was expected to jump to the east side, and was burning in deep canyons, a dispatcher said. She said there were indications that the fire may have started in two areas that later expanded and joined.

Officials were working to evacuate residents north of the Lyle-Snowden Road up to McPherson Road, according to a sheriff’s bulletin.

Forty or more firefighters with the state Department of Natural Resources were at the scene, along with fire engines, helicopters dropping water on the blaze, and an aircraft dropping fire retardant. And more crews were traveling to the scene to start work this morning, DNR official Jim Duck said Thursday night.

The cause had not been determined, Duck said.

Some firefighters working at the scene are from Rural District 7, Dallesport, Lyle, Appleton, Bingen,White Salmon, Goldendale, High Prairie, Centerville and Hood River, Ore., the sheriff’s bulletin said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.