A raging wildfire near Cle Elum, Wash., has damaged more than 26,000 acres and destroyed 40 structures as fire officials struggle to contain the massive blaze.

The fire near Cle Elum in Kittitas County, Wash., also known as the Taylor Bridge Wildfire, is moving fast and is responsible for burning 40 homes and 23 square miles in central Washington. Most of the land destroyed by the central Washington fire is grassland, timber and sagebrush, according to the Associated Press.

"Some of our neighbors have lost some of their home which is tragic news for us. We just hope that no one got hurt," Cle Elum resident Barb Lisk told KIMA-TV.

Among the structures damaged by the fire included a chimpanzee sanctuary, although the animals were unharmed from the fire, the AP reported.

Lisk said firefighters are "working really hard. It's a really a crisis situation right now and we thought it's dinner time perhaps someone ought to remember the firefighters and take them something to eat."

The fire started Monday afternoon east of Cle Elum, a small city of some 1,800 residents, about 60 miles north of Yakima.

No deaths or injuries were reported due to the wildfire, although the blaze continued to rage on and more homes are threatened with destruction from the blaze, the AP reported.

As of late Monday night, the Taylor Bridge Wildfire was within six miles of Ellensburg, a city 28 miles southeast of Cle Elum, Washington Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mark Grassel told the AP.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, fire crews stopped the fire's "forward movement" but would not characterize the Taylor Bridge Wildfire as being contained.

Cle Elum residents displaced by the fire and who need a place to stay were instructed to head to the Centennial Senior Center on East Third Street or the Munson Residence Hall on the Ellensburg campus of Central Washington University, according to KIMA-TV.