Fast-moving wildfire forces evacuations in Spokane County, Washington
By Dalia Faheid, CNN
(CNN) — Traffic was stalled along some roads in Spokane County, Washington, as families rushed to evacuate a fast-moving wildfire while plumes of smoke filled the sky Saturday.
The highest level of evacuation order, Level 3, was issued for several areas in the Spokane area due to the Old Trails Fire, local emergency management officials said, urging residents to “leave now due to the life-threatening conditions.” An evacuation shelter was opened at a community college for residents fleeing their homes.
The Old Trails Fire – fueled by extreme fire weather conditions – has burned over 2,300 acres, according to the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson implemented a statewide burn ban Saturday as the National Weather Service issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning across Central and Eastern Washington between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. – a rare designation reserved for the most severe fire weather conditions.
“Our record-setting drought and high winds are creating dangerous conditions across the state,” Ferguson said. “I am declaring an emergency to help prevent loss of life and property damage. I encourage all Washingtonians to do their part to protect our state during these extreme conditions.”
This marks the first time the weather service has issued such a warning in Washington, meaning “new fires can grow out of control rapidly, our aircraft response may be limited by wind and smoke, and our already taxed wild land firefighters will be in more dangerous conditions,” the Washington Department of Natural Resources said.
The fire in the Spokane area started around noon Saturday and state firefighters were mobilized around 1:30 p.m., according to a news release from the Washington State Fire Marshal. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Across the state, more than 200,000 acres are burning from 12 large fires, the governor’s office said. Near the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire is also forcing Level 3 evacuations in the Spokane area.
Video shows smoke rising over Spokane County on Saturday as wildfires spread across the area. Orange and grey clouds loomed over houses and parks.
On Friday, Ferguson activated 110 members of the Washington National Guard to aid with firefighting. The Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office has also mobilized 13 task forces.
“Fire and EMS resources across our region are being stretched extremely thin as multiple large wildfires continue to burn,” Spokane Valley Fire Department said.
Authorities had warned of “historically strong winds” and low humidity fueling a high risk of extreme fire behavior and very rapid growth in the Spokane area.
Winds picked up Saturday with many locations reporting wind gusts 30-45 mph alongside sustained winds of 15-25 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Winds will continue to strengthen over the next couple hours and peak forecast winds will continue through 8 p.m.
Avista, an energy company, shut off power to hundreds of homes in some areas Saturday “due to critical to extreme fire weather conditions.” Another company, Inland Power & Light, also reported outages caused by the weather.
Along with homes, the fire is threatening Riverside State Park, officials said.
The wildfire is growing as Washington is in the middle of its fourth consecutive statewide drought, according to the governor’s office. More than 1,000 fires have burned about 425,000 acres so far this year — the most burned since 2021, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
“This year has already been one of our busiest wildfire years on record, and we just started August,” Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said in the news release.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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CNN’s Monica Garrett and Alea Motwane contributed to this report.
