Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said yesterday.
The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles (about 21km2) over the weekend and were among dozens of wildfires across the western US that severely taxed the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.
About 390 square miles (1,010km2) has burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, are uncontained.
Photo: AP
No one is hurt or unaccounted for so far
Fire and law enforcement officials said there had been no reports of injuries or people unaccounted for — but they stressed it was early in the response effort.
Officials said that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its US Veterans Affairs hospital.
Video from the Spokane area showed buildings on fire, black smoke billowing up near neighborhoods, and the smoking ruins of homes, with only chimneys still standing. Several officials expressed concern that the area does not appear likely to get a break in coming days from the weather, which is expected to remain dry.
“We are not out of danger,” US Senator Maria Cantwell said during a news conference in Spokane. “The next couple of days will be challenging.”
Investigators have not determined how the blazes started.
HIGH WINDS
High winds make it hard to fight fires in Spokane area
While temperatures Sunday in Spokane were forecast to remain below 80°F (27°C), wind gusts from 35mph to 45mph (56kph to 72kph) were expected, said Benjamin Cossel, public information officer for the federal response team from California called in to fight with the fires.
“We have weather working against us, and we have terrain working against us,” Cossel said.
There were three fires in the Spokane area: the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire and the Meadowview Fire. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday and the US National Weather Service (NWS) issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag alert for eastern Washington.
Cossel said that as it gets warmer during the day, cool air that is closer to the ground and keeping winds at bay would rise, allowing winds to move through the area. The Spokane River cuts through the city of about 229,000 people and there are steep canyons on both sides that channel the wind.
“They push the fire through the canyons, up, up the slopes, and then outside the slopes and around,” he said. “It’s very very hilly, very very steep slopes, a lot of canyons that create really turbulent, really challenging sort of wind scenarios.”
Spokane sets up shelter for impacted residents
Authorities in Spokane set up a shelter at the city’s main convention center. About 400 people were staying there, officials said Sunday.
Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan said relatives of his were in an area affected by the fires and that they do not know if their home is still standing. He said he spoke with them as they were leaving the home.
“They’re in their car and all they can see is smoke everywhere, and it was incredibly scary for so many people,” he said during the news conference.
About 10,000 people had lost power, said the local power company.
Several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane, including one about 80 miles (129km) from the city that has burned about 210 square miles (544km2). Another fire in eastern Oregon, about 70 miles (113km) to the northwest in the Stinkingwater Mountains, has burned about 336 square miles (870km2).
“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” said Keila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what has been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
WIDESpREAD FIRES
Spokane is 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 about 525 square miles (about 1,360km2) 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 is expected to remain sunny — and dry — well into the week, with temperatures rising to more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C) by tomorrow. Officials say the fire was caused by lightning.
In central Utah, a massive blaze tripled in size over the weekend, jumping from 16 square miles (about 41km2) to about 56 square miles (145km2) by Sunday morning. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to local law enforcement.
Officials called the fire “catastrophic” as high winds helped flames jump containment lines overnight. The fire is moving north toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County. Mandatory evacuations were ordered yesterday for the southern portion of Fillmore.
The US NWS 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.
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