Wildfires in Washington state are destroying entire neighborhoods and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee. Officials say it’s the worst natural disaster in the region’s history
As flames quickly tore through neighborhoods, thousands fled for their lives. So far, the inferno has consumed hundreds of structures and forced 60,000 people to evacuate.
More than 600 homes and buildings in the Spokane area have been damaged or destroyed by multiple fires.
Video and photos from the area reveal terror and total devastation. Aric Frank recorded his home’s final moments. “I don’t think I’m gonna rebuild here because I don’t ever want to have to relive a fire coming up this hill again.”
More than 7,000 acres are burning, and firefighters have come in from California and as far away as Australia to help battle the blaze. However, as of Monday morning, crews have been unable to contain the fire.
*** AI tools threaten to hide CBN News from your online searches! Sign up for CBN Newsletters today to ensure you can still find the latest news from a Christian perspective.***
Gov. Bob Ferguson said, “There are so many Washingtonians that have just lost everything in a very short matter of time. In just a matter of hours their lives changed.”
It’s not just happening in Washington state. Wildfires are burning across the West with dozens in the Pacific Northwest alone, fed by drought and high winds.
“The whole northwest is heavily impacted right now,” said Keila Vizcarra, the spokesperson for the federal team from California handling what’s been named the Big Grass Fire in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.
In central Utah, a massive blaze more than doubled in size over the weekend, jumping from 16 square miles to about 56 square miles. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to local law enforcement.
The National Weather Service issued warnings about the air quality across the northwest. It issued red flag fire warnings for parts of Utah and Montana and western Nebraska, and extreme heat warnings for the southern parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada and northern Montana.
High winds have made it hard to fight fires in the Spokane area. Wind gusts from 35 mph to 45 mph had been expected by the afternoon, said Benjamin Cossel, public information officer for the federal response team from California called in Saturday night to deal with the fires. “We have weather working against us, and we have terrain working against us,” Cossel said.
Weather conditions are improving, but could worsen again by mid-week.
In the East, it’s a completely different problem: dangerous flash flooding. A flooding emergency has been issued in North Carolina, where up to 10 inches of rain has flooded homes and washed out roads in the northwest part of the state, near the Virginia border.
Tiktok video from the area shows trucks that have been flooded with mud covering their hoods.
The city of Mount Airy estimates $6 million in vehicle damage following the overnight flooding.
Today, flood watches are in effect from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia and New Jersey.
