3 Firefighters Killed as Washington Wildfires Spread

Three firefighters were killed and at least four others were injured in central Washington Wednesday battling one of the more than 100 wildfires burning over 1.1 million acres in the West, authorities told NBC News.

The firefighters were killed when winds shifted unexpectedly near the towns of Twisp and Winthrop, turning back on crews fighting a small new fire, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said. All residents of both towns — almost 1,000 people — were ordered to evacuate.

More than 70 structures have already been destroyed in the Chelan Complex, which had reached almost 70,000 acres and was only about 50 percent contained, commanders said late Wednesday afternoon. 

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