Camp House and Jenkins Creek Fires still raging, homeowners able to see damage for the first time
Homeowners are getting a chance to see the destruction done by fast-moving fires that have been burning all week in the northland.
The Jenkins Creek fire started Monday and has grown to be the largest, torching more than 16,000 acres. The Camp House fire started Sunday burning more than 14,000 acres. The Munger Shaw fire is 50 percent contained charring 1600 acres.
At least 150 buildings have been destroyed.
But a welcome sign of relief — homeowners were able to temporarily go back in, to grab the things that matter most to them.
Micah Bell of the National Interagency Fire Center says zero percent containment of the fires won't last much longer.
"They have certainly dampened the fire — they have not by any means put it out, but they have reduced fire intensity — allowing firefighters on the ground, especially on the north and west fire —especially on the Jenkins fire, to really get in the fire," said Bell. "That's saying that the fire intensity is low enough right now that it's safe for them to go in unescorted."
But as fire season continues, so does the uncertainty of what it will take to put the fires out entirely.
"It's going to be a while before this thing is out," said Bell. "It all depends. Fire is the most dangerous, non-predictable thing we deal with. We can only predict so much, the weather can predict so much, we can predict so much about fire behavior, but we can't get complacent just because of the conditions we're seeing."
In the meantime, crews are working 16-hour days with little rest.
Crews say one thing that's been overwhelming in a good way — the outpouring of donations.
They say they've had so many at incident command — they're asking anyone looking to help to offer their support to the United Way or Red Cross.
