KLICKITAT COUNTY, Wash. — A fire pushed by strong winds through dry grass covered 93 square miles Wednesday in Klickitat County in south-central Washington, forcing evacuations of people and livestock.

The Newell Road Fire was threatening an estimated 100 homes and 50 commercial buildings. Incident commander Kevin Stock of the U.S. Forest Service said crews were still trying to contain the fire and had not tailed the number of structures that have been lost.

“We haven’t got into that interior damage assessment,” Stock said Tuesday evening at a community meeting at a local middle school.

The blaze was the largest of nine big fires burning Wednesday in Washington and Oregon, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordinator Center.

The fire was reported Friday afternoon 20 miles east of Goldendale. The cause is under investigation, according to fire officials. The fire was 40% contained as of Wednesday morning.

The fire was more than twice as big as the largest wildlife in Washington last year, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Wildfires, including the Newell Road Fire, have burned 124 square miles in Washington so far this year. Human-caused fires have caused nearly all the damage, according to the interagency center.

The peak of the fire season is nearing, Washington Department of Natural Resources meteorologist Matthew Dehr said Tuesday.

Rain this week temporarily lowered fire danger in Western Washington. Conditions statewide probably will worsen next week, he said.

“I do think we will continue to see large fires crop up across the landscape,” he said. “We haven’t had much lightning this year to date. However, lightning typically does peak in early August in Washington.”

The largest Oregon fire is the Flat Fire in Curry County in Southern Oregon. The fire started July 15 and covered 35-square miles on Wednesday, according to the interagency center.