Explosive wildfire crossed US-Canada border, forcing evacuations

An out-of-control blaze burning in northern Washington state exploded in size, crossed the Canadian border and set off a cascade of evacuations over the weekend.

The so-called Eagle Bluff Fire has burned thousands of acres on both sides of the border and forced hundreds to evacuate their homes since it ignited Saturday in Washington's Okanogan County.

Evacuations were ordered on Saturday for more than 700 properties in the Canadian town of Osoyoos, British Columbia, after the fire crossed the border. By Monday, that number fell to 192 properties after firefighters made progress fighting the fire, with an additional 2,635 properties in the area under an evacuation alert to be ready to evacuate should conditions change.

There are no active evacuation orders for the Eagle Pass Fire in the US, but at least three structures had burned in Okanogan County, Washington, and portions of the county were under a Level 2 evacuation notice - "Be Ready to Evacuate" - according to fire officials.

The fire exploded in size due to dry, warm and breezy conditions and has burned through more than 10,000 acres. At least 3,500 acres have burned in Canada alone. The fire remains completely uncontained in both countries, according to Washington and Canadian fire officials.

Wind gusts are expected to ease over the area by midweek, which could lend a helping hand to firefighters.

The Eagle Bluff Fire is one in a series of large fires that ignited across the Western US in July. At least 64 large fires are currently burning across nine states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, including the York Fire, which continues to rage in Southern California's Mojave National Preserve. Still uncontained, that fire has already burned 77,000 acres in California and is closing in on the Nevada border. Weather conditions gave firefighters a slight boost on Sunday night as some rainfall moved through the area and helped slow down fire activity.