By Brenda Starkey
The Chronicle

     REPUBLIC - A fast-moving wildfire fanned by stiff winds charred more than 300 acres of land six miles northeast of town Thursday, Aug. 26.
     The siren calling available firefighters blared long and loud in town for the blaze, which a sheriff's department source said was reported at 1:17 p.m.
     The fire reportedly started near a home on Fish Hatchery Road, and quickly spread through trees toward the north along Spring Ridge Road and jumped Heron Creek, forcing evacuations along Heron Creek Road north and east of the blaze.
     The cause was unknown Thursday evening.
     It was one of several blazes in eastern Washington spurred by high temperatures, dry conditions and very gusty winds, the Department of Natural Resources said Thursday afternoon.
     The American Red Cross set up a shelter Thursday evening at Republic High School for those displaced or needing assistance because of the fire.
Firefighters scoured the landscape for structures and campers who might be in the fire's path.
     It was not immediately known how many structures were threatened by the flames, according to police scanner traffic.
     Two helicopters with water buckets, two tanker planes and two spotter aircraft joined the fight from overhead.
     Crews from the Republic Fire Department, DNR, and U.S. Forest Service battled the blaze.
     Bulldozers from various sources and heavy equipment from Kinross Gold Corp. also pitched in.
     The Ferry County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Border Patrol, Curlew State Park ranger and Republic EMS District also provided assistance.
     DNR declared the blaze a type 2 fire. Type 2 incident management is the second-highest level of response to wildfire, with incident management teams that include federal, state and local emergency management agencies, according to DNR.