Washington state fires destroy hundreds of structures and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate

SPOKANE, Wash. — Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters battle wildfires in eastern Washington state that destroyed at least 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 12.5 square miles by Monday morning and filled the sky with smoke and haze. They were 0% contained, Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said.

No major injuries or deaths were reported by Monday, though authorities were checking for missing people, said Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

“Initially, we had approximately 290 missing person reports, and at this point we have cleared all except 14,” Gregory said. “These may not all be specifically associated with the Spokane Complex Fires.”

The wildfires were among dozens across the Western U.S. that are stretching the ability of federal, state, and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles have burned across Washington.

Entire Spokane neighborhoods lost homes. Chimneys that somehow withstood heat and flames were still standing like lone sentinels, symbols of what was there just a few days earlier.

Online efforts to help people swiftly popped up as friends of fire victims posted numerous appeals for money, clothes, and basic necessities. Kory and MacKensie Aspaas were away with their children when the disaster hit.

“They are coming back from being out of town to a life that’s been completely wiped out,” friend Kali Butler said.

Officials said Sunday that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital. Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started.

The weather forecast for Monday called for cooler temperatures and light winds, but no rain.

“We are not out of danger,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said Sunday. “The next couple of days will be challenging.”

Spokane was not the only place struggling to contain fires.

Crews using bulldozers and helicopters continued for a 10th day to fight a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.

The weather in the area was expected to remain sunny and dry well into the week, with temperatures rising to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday. Officials say the fire was caused by lightning.

In central Utah, a massive blaze more than doubled in size over the weekend and was nearly 57 square miles by Monday morning. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to local law enforcement.

Officials called the fire “catastrophic” as heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines.

The fire is moving north toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County. Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the southern portion of Fillmore.

The National Weather Service issued warnings about the air quality across the Northwest. It issued red flag fire warnings for parts of Utah and Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for the southern parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada and northern Montana.

In Spokane, about 400 people were staying at the city’s main convention center, which was turned into a shelter, officials said.

Spokane Public Schools opened a free emergency drop-in camp for children on Monday. Trials at the county court were pushed to Aug. 10.

Meanwhile, several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane, including one about 80 miles from the city that has burned about 210 square miles. Another fire in eastern Oregon, about 70 miles to the northwest in the Stinkingwater Mountains, has burned about 336 square miles.

“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” said Keila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what’s been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.