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

What the report says

Wildfires in eastern Washington state have forced about 60,000 people to leave the Spokane area and destroyed at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, according to authorities cited by Al Jazeera. The report said the fires around Spokane, Washington’s second-largest city, burned about 21 square kilometres over the weekend and were part of a broader outbreak of dozens of fires across the western United States.

Al Jazeera reported that roughly 1,000 square kilometres had burned across Washington state, and that some of the fires, including in the Spokane area, remained uncontained as of Sunday. Officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries or missing people, though they described the response as still early. Images and videos from the area showed buildings aflame, smoke over neighborhoods and homes reduced to ruins.

Senator Maria Cantwell warned at a news conference in Spokane that the danger had not passed and said the next few days could be difficult. Investigators have not determined the cause of the blazes. The article also placed the Spokane fires in a wider regional emergency, noting major firefighting efforts in Idaho, Oregon and Utah. That broader context underscores how dry conditions and multiple large fires are stretching local, state and federal response crews.