Wildfire threatens two historic towns in Washington state

Updated 6:45 p.m., 9/4/2017: A wildfire burning east of Seattle is threatening two historic mining towns.

On Saturday, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide state of emergency and authorized the use of National Guard troops to fight wildfires.

Residents of Roslyn and Ronald are being warned to be ready to flee if the Jolly Mountain Fire approaches from the north.

The two towns are about 70 miles east of Seattle. A couple thousand people live in the towns and surrounding area.

They're under a Level 2 evacuation notice. That means people should be ready to flee at a moment's notice.

Areas to the north, including luxury homes along Lake Cle Elum, are under Level 3 evacuation orders.

Down the road near Interstate 90, the city of Cle Elum is under a less-urgent Level 1 notice. The Suncadia Resort, which is adjacent to Roslyn, is also under Level 1 notice.

Emergency officials say the Jolly Mountain Fire had burned more than 20,000 acres by Monday night. (Here's the Inciweb description.)

Roslyn is known as the stand-in for a fictional town in Alaska in the 1990s TV show “Northern Exposure.” Opening scenes showed a moose walking past a town café, and action often took place in the historic Brick tavern, a town landmark.

Roslyn was founded as a coal-mining town in the late 1800s.

Washington's biggest wildfire is burning in the Pasayten Wilderness in the northcentral part of the state.

That fire had burned 75,000 acres by Monday night.