God's got us

Year 105 No. 19

www.omakchronicle.com

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Essential Reading in Okanogan and Ferry counties.JULY 23, 2014 $1.00

B2B6

B1

Republic studentssurvey storesselling alcohol

Pullers find theirway to truck and

tractor event

The Omak-OkanOgan COunTy

Primary election ballots mailed in Okanogan County

By Al CampThe Chronicle

PATEROS — Vehiclesjockey for a spot to dropoff donations of water,clothing or food. Otherscompete for a place to

park to pick up much-needed supplies housed atPateros High School.

Propane stoves line anarea in front of the school,where tables sport food,including dozens of pizzasfrom West Side of Chelan.

Volunteers arrive totake drinking water toAlta Lake.

“The BPA (BonnevillePower Administration)

and PUD (Public UtilityDistrict) are busy gettingelectricity,” said PaterosSchool Principal andAthletic Director MikeHull as he assisted withfood and donations.

This is the scene at theschool, days after CarltonComplex wildfiresdevoured homes,buildings and vehicles.

An estimated 70 homes

were destroyed in townand the nearby Alta Lakecommunity.

Paul Harris ofOkanogan was the first tostart unloading a longtrailer of cat and dog foodand other items donatedby Petco. The items atstores in Spokane andWenatchee were cleaned

‘God’s got us’

Firesraceacrosscounty

By Dee CampThe Chronicle

PATEROS – Rain fellTuesday morning, givingfirefighters and communitymembers hope that the CarltonComplex fire may have an end.

For more than a week, hot,dry windy conditions sentflames racing across OkanoganCounty, destroying homes andsending hundreds of residentsfleeing.

“The rain is going to help,”Okanogan County SheriffFrank Roger said, but addedthat the weather forecast callsfor lightning throughWednesday.

“The rain is helping really alot,” said Joni Quarnstrom,spokeswoman for the fire’s onestate Type 1, two state Type 2and one national firefightingteams.

As of Tuesday morning,more than 1,600 firefighters –plus local crews – wereworking 24 hours a day tobuild and maintain fire lines.The blaze, which has burnedacross more than 243,000acres, is 16 percent contained.

At least 150 homes havebeen destroyed.

On Monday, the fire wasactive south of state Highway20 in the Pleasant Valley area,but did not cross the highway.Residents north of the highwaywere on a Level 3 (highest)evacuation alert.

“There were so manyaircraft in there,” Rogers said.

The highway remainedclosed Tuesday morning.

Winds from the south wereexpected to challenge fire linesTuesday, Quarnstrom said.

To the south, though, therain and wind direction arehelping in the Black Canyonand Antoine Creek areasbetween Pateros and Chelan.

To the north, Carlton wasunder a Level 3 evacuationorder Monday, but that waslowered to Level 2 on Tuesday.

“Firefighters foughtaggressively at Libby Creek,”Quarnstrom said.

Lightning touched off fourfires, from French Creek southof Carlton to Pearrygin Lakeeast of Winthrop, on July 14.Those fires, fanned by windand temperatures topping 100degrees, grew together over thenext four days, cutting swathssouth and east through timber,brush grasslands and homes.

In less than 24 hours fromThursday to Friday, the blazegrew 150,000 acres, oftenspotting ahead of itself.

That spotting hit Pateroshard on Thursday. Deputiescounted 30 homes destroyedthere and another 40 at nearbyAlta Lake, Rogers said.

“It was just unreal,” PaterosCity Clerk Kerry Wilson said.“People who have lived there

Community comestogether after firerages Pateros

See Wildfire A2

See Pateros A2

Above, Pateroscommunity members

dig for salvageableitems in the debris.At right, a chmney

and burnt car bodyare all that remain of

a home destroyed at Alta Lake.

Photos by Al Camp and Roger Harnack

Carlton Complex

wildfires largest

in state history