Wildfire Season Hits Pacific Northwest – The Dalles – Are You Ready? (VIDEO)

Colorado isn't the only place suffering from wildfires this summer.  66 homes have been burned in a blaze in Idaho, and one close to home near the Dalles.

Over the weekend, fires came within a few feet of homes in the Dalles, OR area, as a 70 acre brushfire raced towards dwellings in Chenowith, a small community just North of the Dalles.  The fire has now been contained, but officials were concerned not only about it's proximity, but the huge volume of smoke that covered the area - health concerns.  While brushfires are fairly common during the summer, homeowners in the area actually had to bring out garden homes to spray down burning vegataion to save their homes.

  We in the Mid-Columbia are not immune to fires either, especially if you live in newer developments that border sagebrush or other undeveloped land.   Some tips for making sure your home is safe during fire season include:

*cutting back a swath of at least ten feet between your yard/home and the surrounding vegatation.  Make sure the weeds or sagebrush are kept to low levels.  When trimming back vegation, do not use any equipment that might trigger a fire.   Don't use bbq's or other flammable tools or machines anywhere near dry vegetation, and make sure you have plenty of hoses and sprayers handy for quick use should a fire come nearby.  Play it safe!   Video is courtesy of NW Cable News.