UPDATE AT 4:32 P.M.: An evacuation has been ordered for Zaza, Redbird, Waha and Stagecoach areas of Nez Perce County because of the Captain John Fire in the area.
In Asotin County, the Dry Gulch Fire is now covering 24,730 acres, according to a news release distributed this afternoon. The fire has "moved rapidly to the south and west," according to the release. The fire is 5 percent contained.
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ORIGINAL POST: Nez Perce and Asotin county commissioners issued disaster declarations this afternoon because of the wildfires creating an imminent threat to property, public utilities, infrastructure lines of communication, private property and lives of local responders and private citizens.
The declarations come amid numerous wildfires and the warnings for residents on both sides of the Snake River to be prepared to evacuate.
A public meeting to review the Dry Gulch and Silcott fires in Asotin County is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at the Asotin County Fire District Station at 2377 Appleside Blvd. in Clarkston.
The meeting will also be livestreamed on the Asotin County Fire District No. 1 Facebook page at facebook.com/asotincountyfd1/.
Also this afternoon, Asotin County officials released an updated evacuation map, which puts the Cloverland area in Level 2, meaning people should be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice, while the Clarkston Heights has been moved back to Level 1, which means evacuation isn't eminent.
