Destructive Wildfires Force Thousands to Evacuate Across Washington State
Emma MacLeod
8/3/20262 min read
Approximately 5,000 homes have been evacuated and hundreds of buildings destroyed as multiple wildfires continue to burn out of control in eastern Washington state.
Authorities said about 600 homes, businesses and other structures had been destroyed as of Sunday.
The fires have burned more than 21 square kilometres around Spokane, Washington’s second-largest city, and are among dozens of active wildfires across the western United States.
No deaths have been reported in connection with the fires in the Spokane area.
Three Fires Burning Near Spokane
The three fires affecting the Spokane region are known as the Old Trails, Fairview and Meadowview fires.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday, while the U.S. National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning for eastern Washington.
Authorities also issued air-quality warnings as smoke spread through the region.
A shelter was established at Spokane’s main convention centre for residents displaced by the fires.
Strong Winds and Steep Terrain Challenge Crews
Firefighters were preparing for wind gusts between 56 and 72 kilometres per hour later Sunday, even though temperatures in Spokane were forecast to remain below 27 C.
“We have weather working against us, and we have terrain working against us,” said Benjamin Cossel, a public information officer with a federal response team from California that was called in Saturday night.
Spokane, a city of approximately 229,000 people, is divided by the Spokane River and surrounded by steep slopes and canyons that can funnel winds and accelerate fire growth.
“They push the fire through the canyons, up, up the slopes, and then outside the slopes and around,” Cossel said.
“It’s very, very hilly, very, very steep slopes, a lot of canyons that create really turbulent, really challenging sort of wind scenarios.”
Major Fire Burns Across Idaho and Oregon
Farther south, crews using helicopters and bulldozers continued battling a massive fire spanning western Idaho and eastern Oregon for a 10th consecutive day.
The blaze, known as the Big Grass fire, had burned approximately 1,360 square kilometres of grassland in an area dominated by cattle ranches.
Authorities said the fire was threatening more than 600 homes and about 800 other structures.
Officials believe the blaze was caused by lightning.
Sunny and dry conditions were expected to persist through the week, with temperatures forecast to rise above 32 C by Wednesday.
Wildfires Strain Resources Across Western U.S.
Several other large fires were burning in less populated areas of the Pacific Northwest.
One fire approximately 129 kilometres from Spokane had burned about 544 square kilometres.
Another wildfire in eastern Oregon’s Stinkingwater Mountains, approximately 113 kilometres to the northwest, had burned about 870 square kilometres.
The National Weather Service issued air-quality warnings for eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, western and central Idaho and western Montana.
Red flag warnings were also issued for parts of Utah, Montana and western Nebraska, while extreme heat warnings were in effect across southern Arizona, California and Nevada, as well as northern Montana.
“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” said Keila Vizcarra, spokesperson for the federal response team managing the Big Grass fire.
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