Fires destroy hundreds of structures in Spokane

Officials warned of extremely dangerous fire weather heading into the weekend, with dry conditions around the state and winds between 20 and 50 mph forecast east of the Cascades. Gov. Bob Ferguson on Saturday morning declared a statewide wildfire emergency and imposed a statewide burn ban.

“There is not a fire department in the U.S. that can handle a wind-driven event this size,” Assistant Spokane Fire Chief Lance Dahl said during a press briefing Saturday.

“There’s not enough staffing; there’s not enough people,” he said. “And if you look across the western United States now and you look across Washington state itself and how many acres are burning right now. The state resources are spread very, very thin.”

The Spokane Area Fires were more than 5,000 acres as of Sunday morning, according to InciWeb. Three fires are part of the incident: Autumn Lane, Fairview and Old Trails. Old Trails is the largest of the three, burning more than 3,000 acres.

California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 took command of the fire on Sunday morning. “This is still an active firefight,” Tom Stokesberry, a public information officer for the team, said in an interview with local television station KREM 2.

Stokesberry said the fires were the No. 1 wildfire fighting priority in the country.

The state Department of Natural Resources is involved in the response, along with local and federal agencies.

Courtney James, a Department of Natural Resources spokesperson, said by phone Sunday morning that the agency had dispatched four crews of around 10 people, six fire engines, 12 bulldozers and four aircraft to the blazes.

Ferguson, a first-term Democrat, was heading to Spokane on Sunday. A spokesperson for his office said he would get a briefing with officials at the city operations center around noon.

Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, who represents eastern Washington, during a meeting with local officials on Saturday, pointed to the bipartisan push to secure federal aid after severe flooding in Washington in December and said he expected a similar effort for the fires.

On Sunday, in a social media post, the first-term congressman said he had briefed Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin on the fire situation and discussed potential federal support.

The Department of Natural Resources said Friday that roughly 425,000 acres had already burned in Washington this year. August is typically the state’s driest month, raising fire risks. 

Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove told the Standard on Friday that state resources were getting stretched. “This is an extraordinary fire season that’s creating unusual challenges,” he said.

State Rep. Jim Walsh, who chairs the Washington State Republican Party and represents a district in western Washington, lashed out on social media Saturday night, arguing Democratic leaders past and present are responsible for the conditions that fueled the blaze.

“This is what happens when the state mismanages public lands for two generations,” he wrote, suggesting that Democratic officials were overstating how much climate change was a factor in the fires. “They’re trying to shift blame from their own disastrous policies. Don’t let them.”

The blazes come as the state’s primary election approaches on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said as of Sunday morning they had received no reports of damaged ballot drop boxes and no interruptions to postal services.

“While voting may not be the first thing on people’s minds as they respond to these wildfires, I want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to vote if they’re able,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement.

Hobbs emphasized that voters can return their ballot to any county drop box or elections office and can print replacement ballots online at VoteWA.gov, or visit county elections offices or voting centers to request a replacement ballot.

This is a developing story.