Evacuation warning issued for Priest Lake

PRIEST LAKE — The Priest Lake area is all under Level 1 evacuation notice as strong winds continue to push the Tower Fire east and north.

A Nixle alert sent out shortly after 3 p.m. stated the evacuation notice was issued due to the potential closure of Highway 57, the only current safe route south from Priest Lake.

Although residents should treat the evacuation notice as serious, fire information officer Pete Buist wanted to avoid panic by stressing, “There is no imminent of Highway 57 being closed at this time. The fire is still miles away from the highway and the eastern slope of the fire hasn’t moved significantly since last night.”

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