Wildfires near Spokane destroy more than 700 buildings, force 64,000 to flee

Spokane, Washington. Wildfires raging on the outskirts of Spokane, Washington, for a third day have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in and around the state's second-most populous city, officials said on Monday.

The cluster of three blazes ranked as the top firefighting priority in the ‌U.S. as a whole, including the drought-parched Pacific Northwest, where dozens of major wildfires have burned for weeks, degrading air quality across a wide region.

The Spokane-area fires have blackened more than 8,000 acres (3,200 hectares) since erupting on Saturday on the northern fringe of the city, home to about 230,000 residents west of the Rocky Mountain foothills near the Idaho border.

Wildfires near Spokane destroy more than 700 buildings, force 64,000 to flee

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Photos: Wildfires Burn Through Spokane Neighborhoods