Fire crews in Washington state working tirelessly to contain destructive blazes in the Spokane area are preparing for a new bout of flame-fueling winds and intense heat that will arrive on Friday and continue through the weekend.
A short-lived reprieve from adverse weather over the past couple of days gave crews a chance to make considerable progress on taming the flames, but upcoming conditions threaten to undo some of that hard work or fan sparks into new blazes.
A complex of three fires near Spokane in the eastern portion of the state have scorched more than 10,000 acres of land and destroyed hundreds of homes and structures since igniting on Saturday. At one point, the fires forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate — some have since returned to find treasured memories turned to ashes.
And for those whose homes survived the fires but are in immediate affected areas, “it is going to be weeks before we can safely let you in,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said during a news conference Thursday, warning of air quality concerns in the area.
Nowels said evacuations will remain in place due to the incoming fire conditions expected this weekend. “There will likely not be any changes to the evacuation zones until the weekend is over and this weather event has passed us,” he said.
