WA wildfire explodes to 72 square miles, threatens town of Nespelem

Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times on Jul 19, 2026

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The fast-spreading Kaiser Canyon wildfire in northeast Washington forced about 1,000 people to evacuate Saturday, as a small army of firefighters prepared to defend the town of Nespelem, Okanogan County, overnight.

The fire was believed to be sparked by a lightning storm that rumbled across Western Washington before the weekend.

Pushed by winds, the blaze more than more than tripled Saturday to 72 square miles, north of Grand Coulee Dam. As of evening, there were no injuries, but at least 10 structures were destroyed, said Bethany Osgood, spokesperson for the Northeast Washington Interagency Response Team.

Nespelem was intact but surrounded by flames less than 2 miles away, devouring the hills both west and east, she said.

Saturday's winds abruptly shifted to blow from the northeast — toward the town — requiring about 500 firefighting personnel to move and change tactics.

Aircraft scooped and dropped water from the Columbia River and lakes in this arid patch of the state, she said. Flights were scheduled to pause at dusk, but a new shift of firefighters planned to work overnight with heavy equipment, shovels and water tanker trucks, building a buffer zone between the town of Nespelem and the fire, she said.

Most of their labors were east of Nespelem, as the Columbia River offers protection on the west side.

We are so thankful for the river," Osgood said.

Osgood could see the smoke plume from the small community of Keller, about 20 miles away. There were about nine smaller fires dotted around Okanogan County and the Colville Reservation.

"It's windy, it's hot, it's dry. There are flashy fuels with sagebrush. The area is super rugged — rocks, cliffs, wilderness and high desert," Osgood said.

The Keller area appeared to be safe, because it's east of the canyon, and because of the wind patterns, she said.

A red flag warning was in effect, indicating high winds can rapidly spread wildfires.

So were Level 3 evacuations, in which everybody must go immediately, in Okanogan County north of Elmer City. Level 2 or "be ready" evacuations were declared west of the main fire zone, which was considered 0% contained.

Within the 46,000-plus burning acres sits the three-story Lucy F. Covington Colville Tribal Government Center, as well as a health center, a Washington State University campus extension, a public works facility and other community resources. Two miles north of the tribal center, the town of Nespelem is home to a population of about 200.

Law enforcement personnel were going house to house. Residents were told to evacuate by going south on Highway 155 toward the town of Coulee Dam.

Residents of a convalescent center were safely moved to the Omak Longhouse.

Osgood said 1,000 people left their homes, of which 200 entered temporary shelters by Saturday afternoon. These were in Omak, Coulee City and Coulee Dam, while some residents were staying with families in Keller, she said. Shelters for large animals opened at the Omak Stampede Rodeo Grounds, Okanogan County Fairgrounds and Ridge Riders Rodeo Grounds in Grand Coulee.

A Complex Incident Management Team from the Northern Rockies region was expected to take over command of the firefighting effort by Monday morning.

The forecast for Nespelem in the coming week showed temperatures in the high 90s, with hardly a raindrop in sight, according to the National Weather Service.

Wildfire smoke is another threat. The air quality index exceeded 300, or "emergency conditions," near the Canadian border due to other fires, damaging health to everyone exposed 24 hours. Readings were far lower near the Kaiser Canyon area.

But a smoke plume could be seen on satellite readings. From nearby farmland, a dense plume loomed close to hills on the horizon Saturday morning, a photo from a Watch Duty contributor showed.

Two hotlines have been established for those who lost their homes or were in need of shelter: 509-634-0944 for the local chapter of the Red Cross; or 509-846-5101 and jessicaocdcm@gmail.com for the Okanogan County Long-Term Recovery Group.

Donation websites will be launched soon for those relief organizations, as well as the Colville Tribes' Mount Tolman Fire Center.

Not coincidentally, the fire center reposted a social media message warning that "nationally we are experiencing so many major incidents that there is potential to exhaust, or have exhausted, all agency fire resources."

Residents were advised to heed evacuation orders, and especially Level 3 instructions if told to leave immediately, Osgood said. She didn't point to any particular problems with Kaiser Canyon evacuations this weekend, but historically, such as in the Paradise (Camp) fire of Northern California, some people have lingered with tragic results.

"Take care of your life, your family and your neighbors," Osgood said. "Take heed of evacuations.