300 homes burned in massive Washington wildfire, twice as many as previous estimate

This aerial photo shows homes destroyed by wildfires near Pateros, Wash. on Thursday, July 24, 2014. Fire spokesman Pete Buist says the biggest wildfire in the state's history remains at 52 percent contained on Thursday. However, the weather forecast calls for hot and dry conditions to return over the next few days. (AP Photo)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

This aerial photo shows structures that were destroyed by wildfires near Pateros, Wash.

TWISP, Wash. — A sheriff in Washington state says a massive wildfire has burned 300 homes, double the number previously estimated.

Frank Rogers, the sheriff of Okanogan County in north-central Washington, said Friday that the Carlton Complex of fires has consumed about 300 homes this month. His office previously placed the number at 150, but he said then he knew it would rise because officials hadn’t been able to reach some burned areas.

Rogers said he and his deputies have driven 750 miles of roadway through the devastated area, and “every road lost something.” He said the blackened area looks like a moonscape, and he’s seen hundreds of dead livestock.

The fire was started by lightning and has burned about 400 square miles northeast of Seattle.