KAMIAH, Idaho — A 70-year-old woman was killed when she fell while preparing to flee from a wildfire expanding quickly east of Lewiston, the Idaho County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.
Authorities said Cheryl Lee Wissler of Adams Grade died Friday from a head injury she sustained when she fell.
An estimated 30 homes and 75 other structures were lost to the blaze, the sheriff's department said. The fire is surrounding the small town of Kamiah, about 60 miles east of Lewiston, and burned to the edge of Clearwater River, directly across the water from downtown.
The blaze is one of dozens taxing fire crews across the Pacific Northwest. Wildfires have destroyed homes in Oregon and Idaho, forced thousands of evacuations throughout the region and left at least 9,000 without power in eastern Washington.
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At the Idaho blaze, more than 750 people were assigned to fight several fires that together have charred more than 50 square miles in the area near Kamiah.
The region was already struggling after severe drought damaged wheat harvests, with farmers watching as their normally plump wheat kernels grew pinched and stunted from the lack of water. Though most of the wheat had been cut before the fires started, bone-dry stubble still covers the prairie and the forests surrounding Kamiah are parched.
Many of the residents are farmers and ranchers. It's not yet clear how much livestock has been caught in the fires.
Fire information officer Jeremy Olson said that forecasters expect the wind to die down for the next few days. But Olson said the region is so dry that very active fire behavior will continue throughout the weekend.
