Update: Hikers are being rescued and bussed to the Cascade Salmon Hatchery, where families are waiting to reunite. Go here for the LATEST NEWS

As a fire near the Eagle Creek Trail grows, about 140 hikers are still awaiting rescue early Sunday morning.

The hikers were forced to spend the night outside near Tunnel Falls, about six miles from the trailhead, after a fire broke out near the popular Columbia River Gorge trail. Search and rescue teams will walk the hikers out toward Wahtum Lake once it gets light, said Mountain Wave Search and Rescue president Russ Gubele.

"Everybody is ready to leave at a moment's notice if necessary," he said.

There are no reported injuries or illnesses.

The Eagle Creek fire continued to grow overnight, prompting officials to issue Level 3 evacuation notices for the town of Cascade Locks early Monday, said Rachel Pawlitz, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman. Residents of the town south of Interstate 84 are being told to immediately leave their homes.

A Red Cross emergency shelter has been set up across the Columbia at the Skamania County Fairgrounds in Stevenson, Washington, according to a news release.

A portion of the Eagle Creek Trail had been closed for weeks due to another fire, the Indian Creek Fire, which ignited July 4 at 7 1/2 Mile Camp. But with hot weather and a holiday weekend, hikers were still trapped up the trail toward the cool spray of Punchbowl Falls, about 2 miles in.

Many of the hikers planned to stay briefly for a swim, not to stay overnight on a trail, Gubele said.

"A lot of people went up to swim and weren't equipped to do a lot of hiking and spend the night on the trail," he said. "So it's pretty scary for them."

Search and rescue crews are working to get the hikers out as soon as possible, Gubele said.

"So far they've been able to hang in there," he said. "But we want to get them out of there as soon as we can."

Hikers will be reunited with friends at the Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery, the fire and rescue team said in a news release.

Carli Brosseau of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report.

— Samantha Matsumoto

smatsumoto@oregonian.com