Water Chopper Refills while Fighting Kittitas County Blaze

To think it would have draimed much of your backyard pool in less than a minute!

Kittitas County Sheriff's Department Releases Remarkable Video

The 3 Queens Fire began July 15, triggered by lightning, and after initially being at 88 acres, has mushroomed to 3,849. 835 crew and forest fighters are battling the blaze, along with six aerial helicopters. It's remarkable how sophisticated these firefighting machines have become.

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The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office says choppers like this one, can gobble up nearly 2,700 gallons of water in 3/4 of a minute, they're rotating to slow the fire.

The Fire is 2 Percent Contained

Incident Command Officials say conditions toward the south end are better than the north when it comes to slowing the progress. The fire is burning about six miles west of Snoqualmie Pass.

A number of campgrounds, cabins and other seasonal structures are in the area. You can track this and othe fires in WA and the PNW via this interactive map from the Washington Fire Chiefs Association.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF