Wildfires burning in and around Spokane, Washington, have destroyed at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, forcing about 60,000 people to evacuate as crews battle dry conditions, steep terrain and strong winds.
The fires broke out over the weekend near Washington state’s second-largest city and had burned roughly 8.2 square miles by Sunday, according to authorities. Some of the Spokane-area fires remained uncontained as federal, state and local responders worked to protect communities and critical infrastructure.
Officials said no injuries or missing people had been reported in the Spokane area, but warned that the emergency response was still in its early stages. Patients from the local US Veterans Affairs hospital were among those evacuated.
Video from the Spokane area showed buildings on fire, heavy smoke near neighborhoods and the burned remains of homes. Officials warned that dry weather was expected to continue, creating challenging conditions for firefighters.
“We are not out of danger,” US Sen. Maria Cantwell said during a news conference with federal, state and local officials in Spokane. “The next couple of days will be challenging.”
Benjamin Cossel, a public information officer for the federal response team called in to manage the fires, said weather and terrain were both working against responders. Wind gusts, steep canyons and hilly terrain around the Spokane River were expected to make suppression efforts more difficult.
The Spokane-area fires include the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire and the Autumn Lane Fire, which includes what had previously been identified as the Meadowview Fire. Investigators had not yet determined what started the blazes.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday as the fires spread. The National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag alert for eastern Washington, warning that fire weather conditions could support rapid fire growth.
Spokane authorities opened a shelter at the city’s main convention center, where about 400 people were staying Sunday. Power provider Avista Corp. said about 10,000 customers were without electricity, down from a peak of 30,000, and warned that repairs to transmission lines could affect service in the coming days.
The Spokane fires were among dozens burning across the Western US About 390 square miles had burned across Washington state, while crews in western Idaho and eastern Oregon continued to fight a grassland fire that had spread across nearly 525 square miles and was threatening hundreds of homes and other structures.
In central Utah, another fast-growing fire more than doubled in size over the weekend, killing more than 100 cattle and prompting mandatory evacuations for part of Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people.
The National Weather Service also issued air quality warnings across parts of the Northwest, red flag warnings for parts of Utah, Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for southern Arizona, California and Nevada and northern Montana.
Keila Vizcarra, spokesperson for the federal team handling the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon, said the wider region was under severe pressure from multiple incidents: “The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now.”
