Large brush fire burning near White Swan

WHITE SWAN, Wash. -- Firefighters, four helicopters and a plane are working to put out a large brush fire now burning in the White Swan area.

The fire — estimated between 250 and 800 acres — began some time before 3:30 p.m., said dispatch coordinator Gabe Jasso at the Central Washington Interagency Coordination Center in East Wenatchee.

There were unconfimred reports that a few houses may have been lost in the fire, southwest of White Swan near Ransier Road, he added.

Reached by phone, an employee at a White Swan cafe said he could see smoke and flames through the windows.

“I can see from here two helicopters throwing some water out,” said Mario Garza, who works at the Cougar Den Restaurant. “It’s getting huge.”

— Melissa Sanchez