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About 60,000 people have evacuated from the Spokane, Washington, area as wildfires fueled by strong winds and dry conditions destroyed hundreds of buildings and knocked out power across the region, officials said.Three wildfires, collectively referred to as the Spokane Area Fire, have scorched more than 7,700 acres and were 0% contained as of Aug. 2, said Benjamin Cossel, a spokesperson for the California Interagency Incident Management Team 7.Cossel said the fires have consumed more than 600 structures, including homes and businesses. More than 900 firefighting personnel, including from outside the state, were involved in the ongoing emergency response, officials said.Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown at a news conference on Aug. 2 called the wildfires "the worst natural disaster our region has faced."The cause of the fires remains under investigation. No deaths related to the fires have been reported.Officials said a "historic weather event" fueled the fires' rapid growth, citing unusually high temperatures, a record-setting drought and strong winds. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., warned on Aug. 2 that wind speeds as high as 35 mph could lead the blazes to expand further."The next couple of days will be challenging, but we are going to do everything we can to make sure the resources are here and that this issue gets our nation's attention," she said on X.The blazes led Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson to declare a statewide emergency on Aug. 1, banning most recreational and agricultural burning."There are just so many Washingtonians who have literally lost everything in a very, very short period of time," Ferguson later said at a news conference.Ferguson said he spoke with President Donald Trump and made a request for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance."I had the clear sense he understood what was going on," Ferguson said of Trump.About 9,000 homes and businesses were without power across the Spokane region on Aug. 3, according to a USA TODAY outage tracker. Well over half of the outages were concentrated in Spokane County.Spokane neighborhood resembles 'war zone' as fires consume homesMany residents who had fled from the wildfires returned to find their homes completely destroyed.“This is what I imagine a war zone is like,” Spokane resident Sheri Clark told the Spokesman-Review, as she stared at the remnants of what used to be her home and beloved garden. “It feels unreal.”Nearby, Kristin Renz surveyed the damage to the home of her son and daughter-in-law in northwest Spokane. There was very little that wasn't scorched by the flames.Her daughter-in-law, Kimber Renz, salvaged a muffin tin from the rubble.“It’s unrecognizable,” Kristin Renz told the outlet.'Extraordinary fire season'The National Weather Service issued air quality alerts throughout much of Washington state, as well as neighboring Idaho and Oregon."Air pollutants can cause breathing difficulties for children, the elderly, as well as persons with respiratory problems," said a statement issued by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. "Those individuals who are sensitive to increased particulate matter or smoke are encouraged to avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activity during this advisory."The blazes erupted as much of the western U.S. experienced above-average temperatures and dry conditions. Much of Washington state had moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.The state's fire season begins in July and runs until October, when regular rain returns to the region, according to the Washington Emergency Management Division.Since the start of summer, more than 1,000 fires have burned about 450,000 acres in Washington, said Dave Upthegrove, the state's commissioner of public lands, at an Aug. 1 news conference.“This is an extraordinary fire season," he said. "This is not normal."Contributing: James Powel
