OMAK, Wash. (AP) -- Firefighters have made dramatic progress against an 11,300-acre wildfire on the Colville Indian reservation, officials said Thursday.
Winds that stoked the blaze a day earlier died down by Thursday afternoon, allowing crews to contain 85 percent of the fire, information officer Steve Jennison said.
Firefighters were expected to burn up fuel in hard-to-reach areas and continue building lines around the perimeter, Jennison said Thursday evening.
''We've got some of the tougher corners to go now, so it may be a while yet,'' he said.
Firefighters were able to protect five homes that were threatened overnight Wednesday, including one home that survived as the fire raged around it.
''We actually put one load of retardant right on his house,'' Jennison said of the homeowner. ''He was very happy.''
The fire was burning in mostly sagebrush and some timber in rocky terrain 10 miles southeast of Omak in Okanogan County. More than 630 firefighters were battling the blaze, along with fire engines, helicopters and bulldozers.
The fire's cause was under investigation, but initial reports indicated it might have been sparked when a brush mower hit a rock on Tuesday, said Dave Nee, assistant fire management officer for the Colville Indian Agency.
