The wildfires racing across eastern Washington have stretched firefighters so thin — and prompted so many offers for help — that state officials for the first time are inviting ordinary citizens to join the battle.
The state has begun setting up training centers, as well as phone numbers and email addresses, to make contact with potential volunteers. Both centers, in the towns of Omak and Colville, are in the heart of an area where at least 17 large fires have burned more than 400,000 acres and conditions are not expected to improve soon.