The fire continued to burn on the south slope of Dirtyface Mountain in Chelan County, about 10 miles northeast of Stevens Pass and 18 miles northwest of Leavenworth. The blaze had burned nearly 1,000 acres and was 20 percent contained Wednesday, fire officials said.

Fire officials has ordered the homes evacuated Monday after the fire burned to within 100 yards of some houses.

The residents of those homes, as well as the residents of another 70 scattered homes in the area, were to remain under a Level II evacuation warning, which means they should be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice.

The fire was listed as the top priority Tuesday for firefighting resources nationally. About 450 firefighters were assigned to the blaze. No injuries have been reported.

Gov. Christine Gregoire flew over the fire by helicopter Tuesday to assess the damage. In a telephone interview from fire camp, Gregoire said firefighters were hopeful the fire could be contained in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Elsewhere in northcentral Washington, the Shady wildfire about 12 miles northwest of Stehekin in North Cascades National Park remained at 109 acres and was reported 65 percent contained Wednesday morning, park officials said in a news release.

About 85 firefighters were assigned to that blaze, with another 20 expected Wednesday.

Officials suspected that fire was caused by a person.

Gregoire expressed concern that severe drought conditions in central Washington could spell trouble for the rest of the summer. During a visit to Wenatchee last week, she noted that Wenatchee River levels were just 800 cubic feet per second. The river would normally be at 3,000 cubic feet per second at this point of the summer, she said.

"We're where we would normally be at the end of August and it's just the start," Gregoire said. "I think August will be a tough month for us."

The Dirtyface fire started Saturday, apparently in a mobile home, before spreading to nearby brush on state-protected land and parts of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, said Robin DeMario, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.

Nothing remained of the mobile home, though no other structures have burned in the blaze.

"The best thing that's happened here, frankly, is the local folks got on it immediately," Gregoire said. "The fact that it's grown as big as it has, it would be certainly worse if not for the immediate actions of firefighters here."