Fire: Forest fires on the outskirts of the US metropolis Spokane – 64,000 fleeing

Spokane. At least 700 buildings have been destroyed in severe wildfires on the outskirts of the US city of Spokane. Tens of thousands of people had to leave their homes, authorities in the state of Washington announced. The fires, which have been raging since Saturday, have covered an area of more than 3,200 hectares. By Monday, around 64,000 people had been affected by evacuation orders. The firefighting efforts in the area had the highest national priority.

Spokane is the second-largest city in the state, with around 230,000 inhabitants, and is located near the border with Idaho. The spokesperson for the crisis team, Benjamin Cossel, told the Reuters news agency that it was highly likely that there would be fatalities. As soon as the flames died down, search teams would enter the destroyed areas. There were already an unspecified number of reports of missing persons.

The fire had spread from wooded areas to residential and commercial areas, Cossel said. A forest fire had turned into an urban firestorm. Local resident Kami Fehlig described how she and her family had fled with a few belongings over the weekend, shortly before their house burned down. A large part of her neighborhood was "virtually wiped out".

More than 1,000 firefighters were deployed. They were hoping for a short window of cooler and less windy weather on Tuesday. However, extreme heat, low humidity, and gusty winds were expected again from mid-week. So far, it has not been possible to contain the three fires around Spokane even partially, the authorities announced.

The fires in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and neighboring Canada are part of an exceptional wildfire season. According to scientists, the conditions that favor the increasing intensity of the fires are a consequence of man-made climate change.