The fires in and around Spokane, the state's second-largest city, burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday morning and filled the sky with smoke and haze. They were 0% contained, Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said.
The weather forecast for Monday called cooler temperatures and light winds following strong wind gusts Sunday. No rain was in the forecast.
The fires were among dozens of wildfires across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.
At least 390 square miles has burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.
No one hurt or unaccounted for — so far
Fire and law enforcement officials said there had been no reports of injuries or people unaccounted for — but they stressed it was early in the response effort.
Officials also said that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital.
Video from the Spokane area showed buildings on fire, black smoke billowing up near neighborhoods, and the smoking ruins of homes, with only chimneys still standing. Several officials expressed concern that the area does not appear likely to get a break in coming days from the weather, which is expected to remain dry.
“We are not out of danger,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell said during a news conference Sunday with federal, state and local officials in Spokane. “The next couple of days will be challenging.”
Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started.
