Northwest News

Firefighters battling the massive Taylor Bridge Wildfire east of Cle Elum are hoping added air support and light winds will allow them to get containment up to 25 percent by this evening.

Logging roads crisscross thousands of streams in Northwest forests. At each crossing, runoff can spill into the water. A little mud doesn’t hurt. But a lot can choke fish and smother their eggs.

More problems for the oil-spill containment barge being built on the Bellingham waterfront. Coast Guard officials say Shell Oil's Arctic Challenger has caused several small spills of its own in the past few weeks. KUOW's John Ryan reports.

Firefighters on the scene of a destructive wildfire in central Washington are hoping to make major progress Wednesday toward containment of the blaze. The Kittitas County sheriff's office estimates more than 70 homes and cabins have been destroyed. The fire has chased hundreds of people from their homes. Amidst the ashes, correspondent Tom Banse found one unusual story of survival.

Dry winds and lots of fuel are making the Taylor Bridge Fire one of the most dangerous the state of Washington has seen in the last several years, said the Commissioner of Public Lands in a press briefing earlier this evening.

Washington’s lieutenant governor has declared a state of emergency in central Washington because of a still-growing wildfire. The emergency declaration allows the National Guard to lend helicopters to the firefighting effort. The blaze has chased hundreds of people from their homes between Cle Elum and Ellensburg.