Wildfires Drive Evacuation Orders for Washington State Residents

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Or sign-in if you have an account.(Bloomberg) — Hundreds of residents north and west of Spokane have been told to flee their homes after stiff, dry winds fanned wildfire flames throughout the region in eastern Washington state. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountAs of about 4 a.m. local time, the Fairview fire just north of the city had grown to 981 acres (400 hectares), while the larger Old Trails incident had consumed 3,509 acres through Saturday night, the Washington Department of Natural Resources said on its website.“Leave now! This may be your only notice,” an emergency alert warned residents. People “must leave now due to life-threatening conditions in your area!”Emergency centers were set up at the Spokane Convention Center and at the local fairgrounds on Saturday night to handle residents with recreational vehicles and those who took their animals and pets with them, according to the city. Due to wind-driven smoke lowering visibility, residents to the north and west were told to stay at home unless they were fleeing the flames. The Spokane area is home to about 600,000 residents. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againFor weeks, fires across the Pacific Northwest have burned thousands of acres and sent plumes of acrid smoke into the sky, causing air quality alerts throughout the area and further afield across the US and Canada. Power has been shut off to residents around Spokane, as well as further south, to prevent electric equipment from sparking wildfires, Avista Corp., which provides service to four states, said on its website. The company operates 2,300 miles (3,700 km) of transmission lines through the region.Across Washington, more than 17,600 residents were without power early Sunday including more than 13,400 in Spokane County, according to PowerOutage.com.Governor Bob Ferguson on Saturday declared a statewide emergency and an outdoor burn ban through September due to the ongoing drought, immediate weather conditions, and fires.Elevated fire weather conditions will persist across eastern Washington and parts of 12 other states as dry winds sweep the area, the US Storm Prediction Center said. Parts of Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming face a critical, or level 2, risk of fires on Sunday. In Spokane, temperatures were forecast to reach 78F (25.5C) Sunday with winds gusting up to 21 miles (34 km) per hour and smoke filling the skies, the National Weather Service said.There are currently 10 large fires around Washington and through July 29, 1,038 blazes had burned 426,666 acres, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources website.An area roughly half the size of Rhode Island has burned so far this year, Dave Upthegrove, Washington’s commissioner of public lands, said in a statement on Friday. Crews from 14 states as well as Australia have been fighting the blazes along with troops from the Washington National Guard troops. “As a state, we’ve already hit the fifth largest amount of acres burned this century,” Upthegrove said. This advertisement has not loaded yet.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. 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