Cowlitz Complex grows to more than 40 fires

MOSES LAKE — The Cowlitz Complex that cropped up last weekend in Gifford Pinchot National Forest between Mount Rainier and the Columbia River has now grown to more than 40 small fires totaling about 400 acres, according to a statement from the U.S. Forest Service. The fires were ignited Aug. 25 by a lightning storm and 294 personnel have been dispatched in four divisions to fight the fires. Some of the fires that are smaller, unnamed and are less accessible are unstaffed as available resources focus on incidents of greater concern and greater likelihood of successful containment, the Forest Service wrote in an update Thursday...