The Washington state Gray Fire has tripled in size, reducing 9,500 acres to rubble, destroying 185 buildings and killing at least one person, while thousands evacuated the burn zone.
The Gray Fire started around noon on Friday. It covered about 3,500 hectares as of Saturday morning.
But just hours later, winds swept through 4.7 square miles of grass, wood and wheat at 35 miles per hour, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources said.
Medical Lake and Four Lakes, about 15 miles southwest of Spokane, have a combined population of 5,000 — the local mayor warned residents to “get out now!” as the fire continued to threaten those communities.
A red flag warning meaning critical fire conditions went into effect around 10 a.m. Saturday in eastern Washington state and northern Idaho, the National Weather Service said.
Officials, while acknowledging that people were worried about their homes or loved ones, urged everyone to stay away from dangerous wildfire areas.
The Washington state Gray Fire has tripled in size, reducing 9,500 acres to rubble, destroying 185 buildings and killing at least one person, while thousands evacuated the burn zone
Medical Lake and Four Lakes, about 15 miles southwest of Spokane, have a combined population of 5,000 — the local mayor warned residents to “get out now!” as the fire continued to threaten those communities
“When people come in and put themselves at risk, we need to shift our focus from clearing areas and making sure firefighters can safely get in and do their job,” said Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels.
“Then we need to shift our focus to reaching out to people in those areas.”
An emergency shelter has been set up at Spokane Falls Community College. The Spokane County Fairgrounds is open to those with large animals or livestock.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office told khq that at least one person died in connection with the Gray Fire, but the circumstances remain unclear.
Evacuees could be seen driving as the wildfires lined the roads. A woman caught a thick plume of smoke rising from the forest fire
Apocalyptic scenes ensued overnight, with vast areas riddled with wildfires fueled by gusts of wind.
As the sun rose over eastern Washington, residents and visitors to the state revealed the miserable conditions faced by commuters struggling to leave the area.
“We’re heading to our campsite.” But now we’re stuck in evacuation due to a fire,” a man said in a video with his family.
“The fire is right behind us, hopefully we can all get out of here,” his partner said, followed by images of huge plumes of thick, dark smoke lining the road they are traveling on.
The family captioned the video, “Trying to get to Idaho to our campground.” Drove straight into the wildfire evacuation. AVOID THIS AREA IF POSSIBLE.
As the sun rose over eastern Washington, residents and visitors to the state revealed the miserable conditions faced by commuters struggling to leave the area
Another woman reported from work saying she was “surrounded by the fire” and when they tried to evacuate “they couldn’t” because the fire blocked her.
“I’m still at work, I’ve been here since 6:15 p.m., it’s 7:01 p.m. now, I’ve been here since 6:15 p.m. just trying to keep calm,” she said in the hours after Fire broke out on Friday.
“We have the fire department and the National Guard helping and I will be able to go home one day but the fire is still burning.”
The devastating scenes of Saturday morning’s fire highlighted the intensity of the wildfire, which was not 10 percent contained as of 4:00 p.m.
Previously, Spokane County Emergency Management lowered the threat level to 2: “Be Ready!” near Granite Lake, Tyler and Malloy Prairie and I-90 to the south.
But in other parts of the region, the fires seemed to continue to rage.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Joe Smillie told the New York Times that the great fire destroyed 185 buildings and the number is expected to increase.
Apocalyptic scenes erupted overnight in Washington state, where wildfires led to the evacuation of thousands of people
Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper warned residents, posting on Facebook, “All Medical Lake citizens, get out now.”
“We are on Evacuation Level 3.” If you need transportation, buses are available at the Medical Lake High School baseball field,” she said.
“They will take you to Cheney High School (Red Cross Evacuation Shelter).” Small animals are fine. If you need assistance with large animals, please call 911 and they will be able to assist you. Please stay diligent and safe.’
Hours later, the city issued a boiling water alert, saying it was “unsure about the water.”
“We are not sure of the water quality. Therefore, for safety reasons, we are asking our water customers to boil water until we restore the system and can test the water to ensure it’s safe to drink,” they posted on Facebook.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Joe Smillie said the large fire destroyed several buildings in Medical Lake, but that number has yet to be determined
The Gray Fire began around noon on Friday and a few hours later spread through 4.7 square miles of grass, wood and wheat, driven by 35-mph winds, killing at least one person
The Gray Fire led to the evacuation of thousands of people and received a Level 3 fire warning – some of those areas were downgraded to Level 2 as of 7am on Saturday
“We need to take steps to evaluate the water system and test the water.” “We will inform our customers when the water is safe to drink without boiling.”
Horrifying videos and images surfaced in the area overnight, some showing the extent of the wildfire.
A video posted to TikTok of a plane flying over Medical Lake showed vast areas lit by the flames.
The area appeared to be consumed by smoke, and another video showed burning buildings on the edge of the lake as embers and ash rose from the sites.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources also warned that high winds could bring the fire that was burning in the British Columbia Cascades to the United States.
The fire, the Crater Creek fire, has burned at least 54,000 acres since it erupted in July.
“We have a long night ahead of us but please stay safe,” tweeted Hilary Franz, Washington’s public lands commissioner.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources also warned that high winds could bring the fire that was burning in the British Columbia Cascades to the United States
Further north, most residents of Yellowknife, a city of 20,000 people in the Northwest Territories, were forced to flee as a wildfire neared the city limits
“We will focus on bringing these fast-spreading fires under control.”
In Canada, a state of emergency was declared in the western province of British Columbia early Saturday due to dangerous forest fires.
A few homes on the outskirts of Kelowna, a major tourist area, were on fire and some were destroyed.
In a video posted on TikTok, residents in a boat were seen reducing houses and buildings to rubble.
Further north, most residents of Yellowknife, a city of 20,000 people in the Northwest Territories, were forced to flee as a wildfire neared the city limits.
Videos show the fire exploding in the nearby wooded area as vehicles attempt to flee the burn zone.