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Smoking ruins replace entire neighborhoods after explosive, fast-moving wildfires sweep through the northwestern U.S. city of Spokane, Washington, on Sunday. Fueled by intense winds, the blazes destroyed at least 600 structures in Spokane and forced the mass evacuation of over 60,000 residents.
The three blazes, collectively called the Spokane Complex Fire, have burned 7,708 acres, according to a federal incident management team coordinating the response. Fifteen wildfires were burning across the state, scorching 250,000 acres, state Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove announced at Sunday’s news conference.
The National Weather Service (NWS) had warned of "extremely critical fire weather conditions" in the area because of strong winds and exceptional dryness.
Mayor Lisa Brown told a press briefing Sunday afternoon: "Hundreds of homes and structures have been lost. We are still assessing the potential for lives to be lost."
Sheriff John Nowels stated that while no casualties or injuries have been confirmed yet, the figure could change given the difficulty of conducting searches within an active wildfire zone.
The head of Washington's Department of Natural Resources warned that the Spokane blaze is "one of 15 major fires burning throughout the state of Washington right now," adding that the Pacific Northwest is facing an extraordinary, abnormal wildfire season.
Temperatures were 10 degrees cooler than normal on Sunday, though dry conditions and winds will persist before temperatures rise again during the workweek.
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