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Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide state of emergency on Saturday as wildfires continued to spread across the state, including a fast-moving blaze near Spokane, a city in the state's eastern region roughly 280 miles east of Seattle.
The Old Trails Fire prompted evacuation orders for thousands of residents in communities northwest of Spokane, including Airway Heights.
Local authorities raised the evacuation status to Level 3, the most urgent designation, instructing residents to leave immediately.
Fires knocked out power to more than 13,000 households, officials said, with roughly 5,000 structures under threat across the affected areas.
The Washington National Guard deployed personnel to support emergency crews battling the flames, while more than 4,000 firefighting personnel worked statewide, including crews from 14 other states and a team from Australia, according to officials.
As part of the emergency declaration, Ferguson also imposed a statewide ban on most outdoor and agricultural burning through September 30.
The measure does not apply to properly contained campfires, permitted agricultural burns, or gas and liquid-fueled stoves used on nonflammable surfaces.
State officials said Washington is battling at least 12 large wildfires, with the acreage burned this year marking the most since 2021, when fires consumed roughly 484,000 acres statewide.
Authorities attributed the current conditions to a fourth consecutive year of drought, combined with high winds and elevated temperatures.
Video footage from the affected areas showed flames engulfing homes and thick smoke obscuring the sky over residential neighborhoods.
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