Here's the latest
• Communities devastated: Nearly 65,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Spokane County, Washington, as crews battle three major wildfires. No injuries or deaths have been confirmed, but officials said the scale of the fires means it will take time to fully assess.
• Arson arrest: Deputies have arrested a man on an arson charge in connection with one of the Spokane County fires, the sheriff said. Fire officials have said they’re investigating the cause of the fires.
• Ongoing battle: More than 700 structures have been destroyed, and the fires have consumed more than 8,000 acres with 0% containment since they started Saturday, officials said. Fire officials are racing to make progress before conditions worsen, with temperatures set to climb back into the 90s by Wednesday.
• Climate crisis: Seventeen major fires have burned more than 260,000 acres across Washington. Wildfires in Oregon have burned 2 million acres, shattering the state’s previous wildfire record, as the region faces its worst fire season in more than 30 years, fueled by climate change.
Man arrested on arson charge in connection with the Old Trails Fire, sheriff says
A man has been arrested on a charge of arson in the first degree in connection with the Old Trails Fire, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at a news conference late Monday.
Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, was arrested Monday afternoon and is being held on a $1 million bond, Nowels said. CNN is working to determine if Farinacci has an attorney.
The Old Trails Fire, which started Saturday afternoon, is one of three burning in Spokane County. Fire officials have said the causes of the fires are unknown, and the sheriff’s office said the investigation remains active.
The investigation into the suspect began Saturday when a witness reported they noticed a man near where the fire started, Nowels said.
The man was “bending down near some grass” and looking “nervous,” the witness told sheriff deputies, according to Nowels. A short time later, the witness saw smoke coming from the area, the sheriff added.
“Tips from Citizens, along with information from Airway Heights Police Officers and Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputies who responded to the initial call and conducted evacuations, proved to be extremely valuable to Fire Investigators, leading to today’s arrest,” a statement from the sheriff’s department said.
CNN has reached out to the Washington Department of Natural Resources and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
Washington governor meets with tribe affected by fires
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson met with members of the Colville tribe on Monday.
In a post on X, the governor said the tribe, based in Nespelem –– around 100 miles northwest of Spokane –– has been “heavily impacted” by fires.
“We’ve made our request to FEMA for an emergency declaration, and we’re hoping to get a positive response soon. If we do, it’ll help communities like this,” Ferguson said.
Spokane resident who lost his home says life "changed in an instant"
A Spokane family is still in shock after finding a pile of rubble and ash where their home once stood.
“Yesterday, our lives changed in an instant,” Mark Anderson wrote in a post on Sunday. “We lost our home, our beloved cats, and everything we owned in the Spokane fire.”
Anderson said their three cats weren’t just pets, but part of the family.
“Their companionship, and the joy they brought into our home left a place in our hearts that will be difficult to fill,” he said.
In video shared with CNN, smoke and active flames are in the distance as the camera pans across the foundation of Anderson’s home. The only things still standing are the brick fireplace and chimney.
Anderson said they’re staying temporarily with family while they process their overwhelming grief.
“We don’t know exactly what the future holds, but we know who holds our future. One day at a time, with faith in God and the love of those around us, we will move forward and get through this,” he told CNN.
By the numbers: The latest on the fires in Spokane
Crews are working to try to contain three fires in Washington’s Spokane County that have burned through entire neighborhoods.
They are expected to burn “for weeks,” said Kris Maynard, deputy fire chief for Spokane County Fire District 8. The state government has requested federal assistance, Gov. Bob Ferguson said.
Here’s where things stand tonight, by the numbers:
- More than 700 structures have been destroyed and nearly 65,000 people have been forced to evacuate, according to officials.
- The three infernos burning in Spokane County have burned more than 8,000 acres combined and have 0% containment, according to InciWeb.
- About 5,000 people are now responding to 17 major wildfires across Washington, said Dave Upthegrove, the state’s commissioner of public lands. That’s about 262,000 acres on fire, he said.
- No fatalities have been reported, according to officials.
- As crews work to contain the blazes, more than 10,000 structures are “at risk,” Upthegrove said.
- About 100 vehicles were waiting at a police and National Guard checkpoint to return to Spokane’s Indian Trail neighborhood today to find out whether their homes were lost. Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown urged others who cannot return to their property yet to be patient.
- Unauthorized drones flew into restricted airspace over the wildfires at least 26 times, forcing crews to ground critical aerial resources, fire officials said.
- More broadly, the Pacific Northwest is facing its worst fire season in more than 30 years as climate change supercharges conditions.
Other key headlines:
- Wildfire smoke covered nearly the entire state of Washington this afternoon and is expected to linger across the area for at least the next two days.
- Only light wind is forecast through the rest of this week, which should help slow the fires’ spread — but dry heat will keep fire risk high in the Spokane area.
CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji, Tyler Ory, Briana Waxman, Chris Boyette, Dakota Smith, Matthew J. Friedman and Amanda Jackson contributed to this post.
Winds ease in some fire zones overnight, but concerns grow elsewhere
Firefighters in eastern Washington will receive some support from Mother Nature overnight as winds become light, reducing the potential for the rapid, wind-driven fire growth seen over the weekend.
The calmer conditions should also limit long-range spotting and give crews a better opportunity to strengthen containment lines. The air will remain very dry, however, and widespread smoke will continue to hang in the air.
Winds will also ease across Oregon’s Willamette Valley after gusting up to 25 mph Monday afternoon, when the combination of winds and low humidity created dicey, fire-weather conditions.
But the improvement won’t reach every fire zone. Easterly winds will increase overnight along the Cascades and Columbia River Gorge, where continued dry air could keep fires active. Gusts in the western Gorge could reach 30 to 40 mph Tuesday as a red flag warning begins at 11 a.m. PT Tuesday.
Photos: The aftermath of wildfires that devastated Washington communities
Photos taken in the Spokane, Washington, area capture the widespread devastation caused by wildfires that continue to ravage communities.
Even as fires destroyed entire neighborhoods, small items such as street signs were left standing among the rubble.
The National Guard began allowing residents to return to their homes where it was deemed safe, and many found their homes, along with their belongings inside, completely decimated.
Video shows ranchers herding cattle away from Sinlahekin wildfire
Video from Washington’s Okanogan County shows a group of ranchers herding cattle away from the Sinlahekin wildfire on Sunday. Resident Stasia Hazelwood says the fire has been stressful, but the local response is what makes her community so special.
“Around here, when a rancher needs to move cattle or horses because of a fire, people just show up with trailers and/or side-by-sides and help. That’s what people do in rural communities like ours. Everyone pitches in however they can, and it’s been incredible to see,” Hazelwood told CNN.
Hazelwood explains these cows don’t usually come down from the mountains until fall, but the dogs and ranchers were able to move them to safety.
The Sinlahekin wildfire, burning roughly 12 miles west of Tonasket in North Central Washington, is one of 17 active fires statewide.
Its has burned an estimated 85,000 acres, according to the Central Washington Fire Information Center.
Smoke hangs over charred ground as firefighters battle Spokane wildfire
Smoke lingers over the charred ground as flames burn through the brush while Spokane Valley Fire Department crews respond to the Autumn Lane Fire on Monday.
The department released video showing the challenging conditions firefighters from across the region are facing as they work to protect the community.
“These are the challenging conditions all of the firefighters from around the region are working through to protect our community,” the Spokane Valley Fire Department said in a Facebook post
Spokane resident recounts nightmare after fleeing wildfire
Spokane resident Monica Opfer stayed home Saturday to document the approaching wildfire until she felt she had to evacuate. She left with only her dog, medications and a few items of clothing before heading to a family member’s home.
Opfer said her next-door neighbor returned Sunday, before she and her husband did, and found their backyard on fire. The neighbor immediately alerted fire crews, who put out the flames.
“That simple act probably saved not just their home, but our home too, and all the other homes that are kind of still in our area that had not yet been affected,” she said.
Opfer said the emotional toll of evacuating followed her even after she left. She recalled having a nightmare that night in which she banged on the doors of her and her husband’s parents’ homes to make sure everyone made it out.
She was also kept awake by the constant sound of fire trucks and police vehicles.
“I just heard that ringing in my ears, like all night long, and I was wondering, am I going to be stuck with these noises forever?”
Although Opfer’s home was largely spared, smoke has seeped inside, and she and her neighbors are packing up more sentimental belongings if they need to evacuate again.
Climate change causing forests to become "tinderboxes," former Washington governor says
Urgent action is needed to stop climate change, said former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, which is amplifying the destructiveness of wildfires like those ripping through his state right now.
The landscape is dry, which allows the fires to burn so hot that “there’s no human agency that can really contain them,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The former governor, a Democrat, made climate change central to his agenda while in office, signing several legislative packages seeking to address the issue, including efforts to establish emission caps.
He also made combatting climate change the signature issue of his 2020 presidential run.
Inslee said the way climate change is supercharging the conditions for destructive wildfires and other natural disasters is “not a surprise to anyone who has followed the situation.” And it’s not exclusive to the United States, he said, pointing to destructive fires burning through France and Spain.
He slammed President Donald Trump’s push to expand domestic fossil fuels — which account for nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, according to the United Nations.
“Our houses are burning down. The guy is helping these massive, obscene profits of the oil and gas industry, and we’re left out here to dry,” Inslee said.
Family loses generations of memories as wildfire destroys home
Lizzie Davis said her family lived in this home for 18 years in Spokane, Washington, and even after she moved nearby, she continued to visit her parents there regularly. Now, the home and the family’s cherished belongings, including irreplaceable heirlooms and childhood memories, are gone after the wildfire tore through the neighborhood.
“We lost literally everything. All the family heirlooms,” Davis told The Associated Press.
That included childhood photos of Davis and her siblings, baby clothes, jewelry and what she believes were her grandfather’s ashes, along with his military memorabilia.
“Everything,” she said.
Couple finds cherished keepsakes in rubble of burned home
Jim and Kerry Zimmer lost their Spokane home when it burned, as the wildfire tore through their neighborhood Saturday. On Monday, the couple returned to see the damage and take in what was left of the place they called home.
As they sifted through the rubble, they found a few heartfelt keepsakes still recognizable among the destruction. The couple spoke with CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones about those items and the memories attached to the home, including one of their most recent and special moments there: hosting their child’s wedding just this past June.
Oregon surpasses wildfire record as millions of acres burn
Alongside the blazes in Washington, Oregon is facing its own devastating wildfire crisis, with some 2 million acres burned — shattering the state’s previous wildfire record — and dozens of fires still active.
One of the largest fires in the state this year is the Rowe Creek Complex Fire in central Oregon, reaching nearly 325,000 acres on Monday. The Grasshopper Fire, at the southeast base of Mt. Hood, has also burned 31,000 acres and is still growing while winds from the east pour its smoke into the skies over Portland.
Wildfires in Washington and British Columbia, Canada, are also expected to bring hazy skies and unhealthy air quality to the state over the next two days as smoke moves in from the north and temperatures climb toward 100 degrees.
This post has been updated with additional information.
US fire season already outpacing average, with peak months still ahead
Spokane is caught up in a wildfire season that’s been especially brutal this year for the Pacific Northwest. Dozens of large fires are burning across 15 states, with nearly half located in Oregon and Washington alone.
Wildfires have already burned more than 5.1 million acres nationally — over a million acres more than the 10-year average for this point in the year — with the most active fire months still ahead.
The country is currently at its highest level of wildfire response readiness, meaning national firefighting resources are already heavily committed with some fires potentially left without the crews or aircraft they would normally receive.
Long line of residents waits to see if homes survived wildfire
About 100 vehicles wait at a police and National Guard checkpoint to return to Spokane’s Indian Trail neighborhood. As residents make their way home, they’re about to find out whether their homes were spared by the wildfire or lost to the flames.
First aerial images of Spokane County show hundreds of burned homes
Aerial images captured by Nearmap show the Old Trails Fire sweeping through neighborhoods in Spokane County on Saturday afternoon. Captured around seven hours after the fire began, they show hundreds of burned homes and firefighters trying to halt the spread of the blaze.
Officials have said more than 600 buildings were destroyed. The photos, which were taken during the blaze, do not capture the full scale of the destruction. Additional photos from June show the neighborhoods before the fire rushed through them.
Through heavy plumes of smoke, the fire can be seen spreading from house to house, leaving entire blocks burning. In spite of the blaze, green leaves can still be seen on many of the trees. The ground below them, where the fire quickly spread through grass and small vegetation, is charred black.
In some areas, bright red lines of fire retardant, dropped from planes, separate burned homes from homes that survived the fire. Elsewhere, fire can be seen jumping the lines, carried by high winds.
Amid the blaze, firefighters can be seen working to try to protect remaining homes. In a photo of West Pine Cliff Court, burned homes surround one still standing, as a firefighter sprays down the walls and roof facing the engulfed house next door.
What we just learned from officials as Spokane fires keep burning
Firefighters in Spokane County, Washington, are working tirelessly to get three major wildfires under control. Already, the fires have burned more than 8,000 acres with 0% containment — leaving behind devastation akin to a “war zone,” according to one official today.
Here’s the latest:
- There are a total of 17 major fires burning across Washington State, according to Dave Upthegrove, commissioner of public lands for the state. That’s about 262,000 acres that are on fire, he said.
- About 5,000 people are currently fighting the active fires, Upthegrove said, and more than 10,000 structures are “at risk.”
- The state government in Washington has officially requested federal assistance, Gov. Bob Ferguson said. While awaiting approval, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is already mobilizing resources, he said.
- Officials are working to verify the safety of 14 people who called emergency services, but then were unreachable, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said. They are not considered missing, he said.
- The areas affected by the fires look like “a war zone,” said Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, the adjutant general of Washington state.
- It could be a week or several weeks before people are allowed back to their properties, based on where its located, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said, urging people to be patient.
- Ahead of the state’s primary elections tomorrow, Spokane officials said they made special accommodations to preserve access to ballot boxes for evacuees and others affected by the wildfires.
CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji, Chris Boyette and Tyler Ory contributed reporting to this post.
Smoke blankets Washington
Wildfire smoke covers nearly the entire state of Washington this afternoon after winds from the east carried smoke from central and eastern Washington toward the coast.
Smoke is expected to linger across the area for at least the next two days and will bring poor air quality to Seattle and Tacoma. Air quality alerts are in effect, and the air quality today in some areas is particularly unhealthy for children, older adults and people with heart and lung conditions.
“Tens of thousands” of structures at risk, state official says
More than 10,000 structures are “at risk” as wildfires burn in Spokane County, said Dave Upthegrove, commissioner of public lands for Washington State.
“It’s in the tens of thousands that are threatened and that’s a big box,” he said.
Earlier, officials said more than 700 structures have been destroyed, and that there were aerial satellite flights planned to better assess the damage.
“Structure protection is our primary mission, to try to protect those structures, after we’ve already evacuated those folks,” Upthegrove said.
Officials praise “Herculean effort” getting people evacuated ahead of inferno
So far, there have been no confirmed fatalities or major injuries despite the raging flames in the Spokane area, and officials attribute much of that to a well-executed effort to evacuate the tens of thousands of people who were potentially in harm’s way.
“A Herculean effort occurred the other day with 60,000 people being moved without injury,” Tom Clemo, incident commander at California Interagency Incident Management Team Seven, said Monday. “That is phenomenal.”
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said people who have evacuated their home can take refuge at one of the many shelters across the state of Washington, including the Spokane Convention Center.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Tom Clemo’s surname.
