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Washington state fires destroy hundreds of buildings and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate

Associated Press (via Daily Herald) · back to the audit
SPOKANE, Wash. — Some residents returned to devastated neighborhoods in eastern Washington state to find their homes leveled by wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend, covering yards in charred debris. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state's second-largest city, were among the most destructive in state history. About 700 buildings had been destroyed — a number that was expected to climb — and some 67,000 people were under evacuation orders. The cause was under investigation.

"Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers," the state's entire congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration.

The fires jumped roads and rivers and had burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday. The sky filled with smoke and haze. Calmer winds and lower temperatures arrived to help firefighters, but it was expected to be hot and dry again by midweek.

"It's like a war zone," Miriam said. "There's nothing to save."

No deaths or major injuries have been reported so far.

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday they had cleared all but 14.

The Spokane-area wildfires were completely uncontained, said Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

They were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington, which has contended with severe drought and a paltry snowpack.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.