Fast-moving wildfires driven by strong winds and soaring temperatures have prompted the evacuation of thousands of people in eastern Washington state. Some 600 homes, businesses and other buildings have been destroyed since the Old Trails Fire started around noon on Saturday. In addition to the Old Trails Fire, there are two others — the Fairview Fire and the Meadowview Fire — burning in the area.
The state issued air quality warnings. The blazes sent a plume of smoke billowing over the region, and almost 8.2 square miles of terrain had been burned around Spokane, the second-largest city in Washington. A state of emergency was declared as cars lined the roads while people fled their homes.
Orange and red flames were visible from the highway. No deaths have yet been reported from the fires in the Spokane area. "We urge residents of Spokane to heed evacuation orders and to stay alert to changing conditions and evacuations as they are rapidly changing," said Courtney James, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation. Firefighters had zero containment as of Saturday evening and the wind continued to blow, said Jessica Watson, a DNR spokesperson for the fire department. "We have weather working against us, and we have terrain working against us," said Benjamin Cossell, a public information officer for the federal response team from California called in Saturday night to deal with the Spokane-area blaze.
Power company Avista said it implemented public safety shutoffs in the area due to elevated fire risk. Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday after unusually high temperatures and high winds exacerbated record wildfires across the state.
"Things are extremely dynamic, especially in Spokane," Ferguson said during a press conference on Saturday. Cossel said that as it gets warmer during the day, cool air that's now closer to the ground and keeping winds at bay will rise, allowing those 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." The National Weather Service issued a "particularly dangerous situation" red flag alert for eastern Washington. What the fires burning near Bordeaux's vineyards could mean for France's wine industry Russian attacks on Ukraine kill several; possible Russian missile crashes in Poland Several people killed in shooting at Idaho In-N-Out restaurant, officials say She went to "hell and back" for a diagnosis.
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