About two dozen Wenas Valley homes remained under mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday evening after a wildlands fire grew to more than 2,800 acres.
By Wednesday evening about 130 local, state and federal firefighters were battling flames on a ridge thick with sagebrush and tinder-dry cheat grass.
A forecast of decreasing overnight winds was expected to help with fire Thursday, but the relief could be short-term with winds expected to pick up over the weekend. The fire danger in Yakima is high and risk will increase over the weekend and into next week when fireworks are being used, said Wyatt Leighton of the state Department of Natural Resources.