NorthwestJuly 16, 2003

Associated Press

YAKIMA -- The Rattlesnake Canyon Fire on the Colville Indian Reservation near Spokane was declared 100 percent contained Tuesday, fire information officer Cynthia Reichelt said.

Crews were being released from the fire, which burned 10,600 acres and destroyed one summer home after it started July 4.

The blaze is believed to have been caused by fireworks.

Meanwhile, a wildfire 20 miles west of Yakima held steady at about 2,000 acres Tuesday, officials said.

No major injuries have been reported in any of Washington's wildfires this summer.

About 500 firefighters had contained about 70 percent of the Middle Fork Fire near Tampico, in the Yakima area, fire spokesman Dale Warriner said. No structures have burned.

The fire is burning in densely timbered slopes in the Cascade Range.

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Fighting the Middle Fork Fire has cost about $1 million so far.

Fifteen of 25 fire engines brought from other communities to protect homes in the Tampico area were released Tuesday morning, Warriner said. Ten engines remained to protect homes.

Warriner said there is some suspicion that fireworks started the fire, but the cause has not been determined.

Elsewhere in Washington, the remote Farewell Creek Fire near the Pasayten Wilderness continued to burn Tuesday in the north central part of the state.

The lightning-caused fire was 10 percent contained Tuesday afternoon and has burned over 12,750 acres, spokesman Jim Archambeault said. No structures were threatened and none had burned. A heavy inversion on Tuesday was causing lots of smoke to settle into the fire camp.

Crews spent much of Monday building more lines to prevent the fire's spread to the east and northeast. Firefighters hope to prevent the flames from crossing the Chewuch River on the east, information officer Tom Knappenberger said.

"We're still pretty cautious because of the terrain and the heat," Knappenberger said. "There's a lot of work to be done on the fire yet."

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