Fires in Spokane, Washington, burn 600 structures, force 60,000 evacuations

Eastern Washington state is experiencing a severe wildfire crisis that has displaced tens of thousands of residents and destroyed hundreds of buildings. The Spokane area, home to the state's second-largest city, has been particularly hard hit, with fires consuming roughly 21 square kilometres over a single weekend and destroying at least 600 homes, businesses, and other structures. Authorities reported no confirmed injuries or missing persons as of Sunday, though officials cautioned that the response effort was still in its early stages.

The scale of the disaster extends well beyond Spokane. Across Washington state, wildfires have burned approximately 1,000 square kilometres, straining the capacity of federal, state, and local firefighting resources. Several fires in the Spokane region remain uncontained, and officials expressed alarm at weather forecasts predicting continued dry conditions in the coming days. Senator Maria Cantwell warned during a news conference that the region faces ongoing danger and that the next several days would present significant challenges.

Wildfire activity is not limited to Washington. In western Idaho and eastern Oregon, crews have spent ten days battling a single fire that has consumed nearly 1,360 square kilometres of grassland. That blaze threatens more than 600 homes and 800 additional structures in an area dominated by cattle ranching operations. Meanwhile, a major fire in central Utah more than doubled in size over the weekend, expanding from 41 square kilometres to 145 square kilometres by Sunday morning, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 cattle.