A brush fire has burned nearly 8 square miles - more than 5,000 acres - and one old barn outside the small Eastern Washington town of Elmer City.

Cathy Moses of the Colville Tribe says the fire is threatening nine homes in the town located near Grand Coulee Dam. She says residents of three homes have evacuated.

The fire broke out Tuesday evening and has closed Highway 155 near Elmer City. No cause has been found.

Moses says bulldozers have dug lines around the threatened structures. No injuries have been reported.