Joseph O’Sullivan Conrad Swanson and Isabella Breda
The Seattle Times
SPOKANE, Wash. — A series of wildfires exploded into massive conflagrations over the weekend, forcing more than 60,000 people out of their homes and scorching about 700 structures, catapulting the disaster into one of the most destructive in Washington’s history.
Thousands more remained without power, and those who have been pushed out of their homes must find a new place to stay, as the Autumn Lane, Fairview and Old Trails fires continued to rage across about 8,000 acres, or 12 square miles, all on the northern edges of the city.
“Hundreds of homes and structures have been lost, we are still assessing the potential for lives to be lost,” Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said at a news conference with state and local officials Sunday. “So to the people suffering right now, either loss or uncertainty, our hearts go out to you, we will be here for the long term.”
Brown said the cause of the fires remained unknown and under investigation.
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Within hours of sparking, the Autumn Lane and Old Trails fires went from being small vegetation fires to infernos jumping over the Spokane River on Saturday, with the flames ripping through suburban neighborhoods and causing untold damage.
Severe drought, spiking temperatures and high winds combined to fuel these fast-spreading wildfires and transform them into the destructive whirlwinds now wreaking havoc across Eastern Washington. At least a dozen other fires were also burning across Washington state, several of which have also expanded significantly in the last 48 hours. State officials warned of explosive” and “particularly dangerous blazes in the fire forecast this weekend.
Spokane authorities said it was likely the most severe disaster the city has ever faced. In the span of a few hours, protecting Spokane became the No. 1 priority for firefighters in the country. The city is the state’s second largest by population, in a virtual tie with Tacoma.
Authorities noted the 60,000 evacuees did not count people in rural areas outside of city limits.
“This is an extraordinary wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest,” Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said. “This is not a normal season.”
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So far no deaths or injuries have been confirmed, Spokane police Chief Kevin Hall said, though the department was investigating reports of looting. All have so far turned out to be unfounded, he said. National Guard members were out to help protect property. Upthegrove, who leads the Department of Natural Resources and the state’s wildland fire response, said more than 900 people were battling the Spokane fires.
At the same time, much of the Western United States was burning, stretching resources thin. More than 250,000 acres across the state were on fire, or more than 390 square miles. That’s more than four times the footprint of Seattle.
Gov. Bob Ferguson said he and other state and federal officials are requesting help from President Donald Trump’s administration. Washington not only needs immediate aid from groups like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it will also need long-term help in rebuilding fire-scarred communities.
Ferguson said he made a request to speak with the president Sunday, and the president responded within hours.
“The president was very gracious, I spoke to the president about what’s going on … and he expressed his support,” Ferguson said at the news conference.
Around 4,000 firefighters are attacking flames across Washington, Upthegrove said. The state has received help from about a dozen states around the country — Alaska to Florida — and even from Australia, he said.
Among other items, officials have requested from FEMA food, search-and-rescue help and housing, Ferguson said.
Spokane County Commissioner Chris Jordan said the Spokane County Fairgrounds opened for people with pets and livestock who need a place to go, as well as for people with campers who are able to camp.
“Please go through the red gate off of Broadway,” he added. As for any looting, theft or other crimes during the disaster, he added, “There will be no tolerance, they will be aggressively prosecuted.”
The fires damaged utility lines, said Heather Rosentrader, CEO of Avista.
“We currently have just over 10,000 customers who are out of power, mainly in Spokane, but also in the Colville area,” she said Sunday afternoon.
That number peaked at 30,000 on Saturday, she said, and included some customers who lost power because Avista proactively shut it down to prevent damage or further fire.
“And all of those have been restored,” she added.
Avista doesn’t believe their equipment started any fires. The utility is “operating with less capability and less capacity” until lines can be fixed.
Because of that, there will be a risk of some customers having outages during peak times.
About 5,300 natural gas customers were also without service, Rosentrader said, and those will take longer to restore, as crews must visit each house.
Several evacuation shelters are open in and around Spokane for people displaced by this weekend’s fires.
For those affected by the Old Trails fire, a shelter opened at the Spokane Convention Center, 334 West Spokane Falls Blvd.
For those displaced by the Fairview fire, an evacuation center has been established at Northwood Middle School, 12908 N. Pittsburg St.
For evacuations in south Stevens County , a Red Cross shelter is open at Jenkins High School , 702 E. Lincoln Ave., Chewelah.
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