Spokane fire satellite images as millions told to stay inside

Satellite images captured by NASA show thick plumes of wildfire smoke streaming across eastern Washington as the Spokane-area fires continue to burn, damaging hundreds of structures, prompting evacuations and pushing air quality to dangerous levels. The image, captured on August 2, shows smoke pouring east-northeast across Washington and into Idaho, Montana and several Canadian provinces. NASA said the smoke was coming from the Little Giant Fire west of Chelan, as well as a cluster of fires near Spokane that ignited over the weekend. The Spokane-area fires include the Old Trails Fire, Fairview Fire and Autumn Lane Fire. Combined, the fires had burned around 5,400 acres by August 2, before growing to more than 7,500 acres at the time of publishing. Reports indicate that at least 700 structures have been destroyed by the fires, forcing the evacuation of about 60,000 people in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties.

Smoke from the Washington fires has sharply reduced air quality across parts of the Pacific Northwest. NASA said the Spokane-area fires, together with other fires in the state, contributed to "very unhealthy" air quality in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties. The Washington Department of Ecology, Colville Confederated Tribes, Environmental Protection Agency and Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency also issued an Air Quality Alert for several eastern Washington counties, including Spokane County, warning that fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, may reach "Very Unhealthy" levels.

Residents in affected areas are being urged to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, use filtered indoor air where possible and avoid strenuous outdoor activity.

The Spokane fires come during a period of extreme fire weather across Washington. NASA noted that strong winds, high temperatures and dry fuels led the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue Washington's first-ever "particularly dangerous situation" fire weather alert on July 31, a designation generally reserved for the most severe fire conditions.

The current Red Flag Warning information provided by the NWS includes Washington's western Columbia River Gorge, where dry conditions and easterly winds up to 38 mph were expected.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties as fires spread rapidly through dry vegetation and neighborhoods. Some areas are under Level 1 ("Be Ready"), Level 2 ("Be Set"), and Level 3 ("Go Now") evacuation orders as firefighters continue to battle the blazes.

The Spokane fires are part of a much broader wildfire outbreak across the United States. American Forests' active wildfire dashboard shows that, at the time of publishing, 524 active U.S. wildfires have torched 3.6 million acres.

By the start of August, more than 1,000 fires had burned about 425,000 acres in Washington since the beginning of the year, the most since 2021, with 12 large fires still active.