The four wildfires sparked at the beginning of this week in Washington have converged into what is being called the Carlton Complex fire and the massive blaze continues to expand, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of land, burning down homes, causing widespread evacuations, and more.

The most recent incident report on the Carlton Complex fires, updated on InciWeb at 3:30 p.m. PST on Saturday, July 19, estimates that 215,153 acres of land in the Methow Valley in Washington have been lost to the blaze.

The fire was reportedly ignited by lightning on Monday, July 14 at approximately 2:30 p.m. Since that time there has been increasingly rapid fire spread, spotting, torching, crowning and extreme fire behavior according to officials on the scene. The dangerous blaze prompted widespread evacuations of the affected area of residents in several neighborhoods earler in the week, including those between Carlton and Pateros as well as in the Pateros and Brewster areas.

According to officials, Friday was yet another extremely challenging day for fire crews. Hot weather and high wind conditions pushed the fire over the ridge tops and further into the town of Pateros, resulting in more mandatory evacuations of local residences. An additional 300-500 homes were evacuated Friday, as was one of the Red Cross shelters that had been set up to cater to evacuees.

Adding to the dangerous situations caused by the Carlton Complex, the fire has begun to affect communications services. Landlines are down in many parts of Okanogan County and issues are also being reported regarding cell phone service outages.

With reports of up to 100 homes having already been lost to this blaze, Structure Protection crews continue to work throughout the fire area and monitor around structures. Firefighters are also working with property owners to help reduce vegetation and remove debris from affected areas. A total of 625 firefighting personnel are currently assigned to help in battling this inferno.

Meanwhile, in terms of fire advances the blaze traveled further south to the edge of the communities of Pateros and Brewster on Saturday. The present fire situation continues to evolve rapidly because of the increasingly high level of fire danger. As these changes in fire behavior take place, officials insist that the safety of the public and firefighting personnel is top priority.

Among the agencies cooperating to put an end to the hazardous fire complex are the United States Forest Service, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Land Management, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Okanogan Fire District 6, Okanogan Fire District 15 and the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office.

A command post has been set up in the area affected by the fire, with Okanogan, Douglas, Chelan and Grant County Emergency Management officials in place. Additional state mobilization resources have reportedly arrived to help in increased structure protection.

Residents living in areas where the highest level mandatory evacuation orders are in place are turning to The Red Cross for temporary refuge, with four shelters already having been set up in the area affected by the fire.

These shelters are located at the following sites: Chelan High School, located at 215 W. Webster in Chelan; Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church, located at 328 N. Riverside in Omak; First Baptist Church, located at 429 Evans Street in Leavenworth; and Winthrop Barn Auditorium, located at 51 N. Highway 20 in Winthrop.

The Red Cross Shelter that had been operating out of The Grange, located at 344 W. 2nd Street in Twisp has been closed down due to fire hazards.

Residents should be aware that public health regulations do not permit pets in the shelters with the exception of trained assistance animals.

For those traveling through the area in attempts to evade the blaze, dangerous fire hazards have caused multiple road closures. As of 11:00 a.m. PST on Saturday, Highway 97 from Brewster to Pateros was closed, as was Highway 97 from Chelan to Pateros. Portions of Highway 20 and Highway 153 are reportedly being closed intermittently.

Because of the changing nature of the fire activity, highway closures can change very quickly. For the most up-to-date information residents can contact the "511" automated Washington Department of Transportation Travel Information line.

Advice for those in current and potential evacuation areas, before leaving home to travel to safer locations -- The Red Cross has compiled a checklist of suggested items that should be taken from the home and brought along to the Red Cross shelters or other temporary places of refuge.

This list includes: prescription medications, emergency medications, vitamins and eyeglasses; identification and other important personal documents; photographs and irreplaceable memorabilia; extra clothing, pillows, blankets, towels, hygiene supplies and comfort items; supplies needed for infants and children, like diapers, formula and toys; special items for family members who are elderly or disabled; personal computers and information in hard drives and disks; credit and ATM cards; and cash.

Local residents and other people seeking additional information on the Carlton Complex fire can check back with us at Latin Post for related updates and can also access specific sites that have been set up to make available the most up-to-date information on the incident.

These sites include the #CarltonComplex Twitter feed, The Carlton Complex Wildfire Facebook page and the official Carlton Complex blog.

To access information on the fire by phone the numbers for two landlines set up to provide updates on the incident are (509) 996-9971 or (509) 996-3568. Additionally, two cell phones have been specially devoted to current fire-related information. These phone numbers are (360) 688-0560 or (360) 688-0148.

Officials have also put in place additional phone lines due to the communications outages caused by the fire. Residents who are unable to get through to the above numbers can dial (509) 664-9314 for an additional fire information line. For evacuation level information in specific areas, that number is (509) 422-7206.

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For the latest news & updates, follow reporter Bary Alyssa Johnson on Twitter: @MissBary