VANTAGE, Wash. -- Sirens and shouts of a level 3 evacuation is what Carey Meyer and his wife Becky woke to Tuesday morning.
The Rye Grass Coulee Fire prompted evacuations for all of Vantage. Those evacuations were lowered to a level two around 12:15 p.m. This means residents should be ready to leave at a moment's notice. The fire is burning 1,000 acres and is zero percent contained. I-90 reopened at noon.
Carey Meyer said it was around 3:30 a.m. when they were evacuated along with other families staying at Wanapum State Park. There was no time to grab everything they needed.
"Sirens went off and firemen were coming to the park telling us to evacuate, level three evacuation which means get out," Carey said.
Meyers and his wife are volunteers for Washington State Parks and travel around to several campgrounds. They expected the Eastern Washington heat, but not this.
"As I exit in my trailer I could see flames probably less than a quarter of a mile away North of the park," Carey said.
A tough task for firefighters trying to tame a beast, spreading in the wind.
"When it gets wind aligned there's no steering it,it's going to go where Mother Nature wants it to go," said Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue Chief John Sinclair. "I would say gusts, constant gusts of 50 miles per hour plus. The wind was rocking and rolling our camper trailer all night."
Along with many other families, the Meyers were evacuated from Wanapum State Park. They are grateful for fire crews but ready to get back out on the road.