Spokane Wildfires Destroy 700 Structures and Force 60,000 to Evacuate

A relentless combination of spiking temperatures, severe drought, and high winds drove three major wildfires into the northern edges of Spokane over the weekend, transforming quiet residential neighborhoods into fast-moving infernos. The Autumn Lane, Fairview, and Old Trails fires erupted and rapidly expanded, forcing about 60,000 people to evacuate their homes as flames jumped barriers and swept across the region.

Old Trails Fire Jumps the Spokane River and Threatens City Limits

The largest of the blazes, known as the Old Trails fire, started around noon on Saturday as a small vegetation fire in open brush and grass. Driven by strong winds, it raced north and east toward residential zones before jumping the Spokane River that afternoon, crossing directly into city limits and prompting the highest-level evacuation alerts across northern Spokane.

Public safety reporters on the ground witnessed the rapid escalation firsthand. I was sitting near an elementary school and saw a wall of flames east of the school and just a cascade of black smoke and a wall of flames coming toward me, Alexandra Duggan, a public safety reporter for The Spokesman-Review, described to NPR.

As traffic clogged escape routes and orange flames lit up the highway, residents scrambled to flee.

Mayor Lisa Brown Calls Blazes the Worst Regional Disaster in History

During a Sunday news conference alongside state and local emergency officials, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown addressed the staggering toll of the disaster, labeling it the worst natural disaster our region has faced.

Washington Wildfires Destroy 600 Homes Near Spokane As Emergency Declared

“Hundreds of homes and structures have been lost. We are still assessing the potential for lives to be lost.”

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, via Livemint

While damage assessments remained preliminary, state and local officials offered varying totals for the destruction. A spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service put the number of destroyed structures at 600, while broader regional estimates from The Seattle Times cited approximately 700 structures consumed across roughly 8,000 acres, or 12 square miles.

Governor Bob Ferguson Declares State of Emergency and Requests Federal Assistance

In response to the crisis, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency and implemented a burn ban, noting that the state was enduring its fourth straight year of drought. Across Washington, about more than 900 firefighters were battling a dozen major blazes that had scorched more than 250,000 acres.

The president was very gracious, I spoke to the president about what’s going on … and he expressed his support, Ferguson stated during the Sunday briefing.

Dave Upthegrove, the state’s public lands commissioner and head of the Department of Natural Resources, emphasized the unprecedented strain on firefighting resources. This is an extraordinary wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest, Upthegrove said, noting that crews from roughly a dozen states—ranging from Alaska to Florida—along with international support from Australia, had been deployed to assist.

Gov. Bob Ferguson Declares Statewide Emergency as Wildfires Spread

Shelters Open as Avista Utilities Restores Power to Thousands

Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan noted that the Spokane County Fairgrounds had been specially prepared to accept residents with pets, livestock, and campers.

Avista Utilities CEO Heather Rosentrader reported that roughly 10,000 electricity customers lacked power on Sunday afternoon due to damaged utility lines and preventative public safety shutoffs initiated to mitigate elevated fire risks. Utility officials stated that power would be restored as soon as field conditions were verified as safe.

While weather conditions improved slightly on Sunday afternoon as winds began to ease, firefighting teams reported zero percent containment on the Spokane-area fires, leaving emergency personnel on high alert for changing weather patterns.