Canada next in line for Hurricane Hilary’s rains after historic U.S. impacts
WILL IT EXTINGUISH WILDFIRES
Digital Writers
Sat, August 19, 2023
Canada next in line for Hurricane Hilary’s rains after historic U.S. impacts
Click here to view the video
A catastrophic flash flood threat will cover much of the southwestern United States through Tuesday as Hurricane Hilary tracks along a path not seen in more than 80 years.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued its first-ever tropical storm warnings for southern California on Saturday, covering tens of millions of people throughout the Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino metropolitan areas.
RELATED: Catastrophic flood threat in California as Hurricane Hilary nears
California Tropical Storm Warning
Folks throughout the deserts and mountains of southern California and southern Nevada will likely experience drenching rains on the order of 100+ mm through early next week.
The amount of rain on the way will likely break all-time records for many areas, unleashing widespread and destructive flash flooding and landslides throughout the region’s vulnerable terrain.
Gusty winds will compound a dangerous situation, potentially leading to tree damage and power outages in the region's densely populated metro areas.
Hilary Canada Effects August 20
Hilary’s effects won’t stop with the American Southwest. The system’s moisture will continue flowing north over a large ridge parked over the central United States, bringing cloudy skies and rain deep into the heart of Canada heading into next week.
Hilary beginning its final approach into Mexico, U.S.
Hurricane Hilary peaked on Friday as a formidable Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 225 km/h. It’s since begun its long-anticipated weakening trend, as unfavourable atmospheric conditions and cooler ocean waters rob the storm of the energy it needs to thrive.
MUST SEE: The best way to prepare for a hurricane is well ahead of a potential disaster
hilarytrack
Despite the storm’s winds starting to tick down, Hilary’s looming impacts on the U.S. Southwest are essentially baked in at this point. The storm’s prolific tropical moisture will continue surging inland even as its structure begins to degrade.
Forecasters with the NHC expect Hilary to make landfall on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula on Sunday afternoon, eventually crossing the international border into California near San Diego by Sunday evening. If the predictions pan out, this would be the first tropical storm to reach California soil since 1939.
Catastrophic flooding likely for southern parts of California, Nevada
The storm’s influence arrived Saturday as rounds of heavy rain began washing over the deserts of the American Southwest. Flash flood warnings were already in effect throughout extreme southeastern California as a result of heavy rain influenced by the storm’s outer fringes, with the bulk of the moisture still to come on Sunday and Monday.
CaliRainHilary
Death Valley, California, only measures about 55 mm of rain in an average year, with records there stretching all the way back to June 1911.
The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) expects Death Valley to receive about 90 mm of rain through Tuesday morning, which would resoundingly shatter all-time records for the wettest day, wettest week, and wettest month ever measured there. This much rain would easily secure 2023 as Death Valley’s wettest year on record.
RELATED: Beware: Flood insurance isn't guaranteed, and the type you have can vary
It’s a similar story in nearby Las Vegas, Nevada, the world-renowned vacation destination that hosts millions of visitors every year. The desert climate in Las Vegas only provides the city about 100 mm of rain every year. The latest NWS forecast calls for about 50 mm of rain over the next three days.
If the flash flooding threat weren’t enough of a hazard, Las Vegas will see a risk for tornadoes in any thunderstorms that develop over the region on Sunday as Hilary pushes inland. Fast-moving tornadoes are a common hazard as tropical systems make landfall.
Hilary sends Canada a dose of tropical moisture this week
The remnants of Hilary will pick up speed and continue pushing north after its deluge in the western U.S.
A formidable heat dome setting up over the central United States will send daytime high temperatures well into the 40s for a vast swath of the country through the upcoming week.
AtmosMoisture
The outer edge of a heat dome this intense acts like a guardrail that forces all systems to scoot around the ridge.
This will force Hilary’s remnant moisture to flow into Western Canada through next week, bringing widespread clouds and occasional bouts of rain to the region. Some of the rain in Alberta could be heavy at times in the Rockies and the foothills.
We could see some of that moisture spill toward Ontario and Quebec later in the week, bringing the potential for clouds and rain heading toward next weekend.
Header image courtesy of NOAA.
WATCH: The best time to prepare for a hurricane is well before one forms
Click here to view the video
British Columbia under province-wide state of emergency due to 'unprecedented' wildfires: Officials
IVAN PEREIRA and RILEY HOFFMAN
Fri, August 18, 2023 at 8:51 PM MDT·3 min read
British Columbia Premier David Eby declared province-wide state of emergency in response to unprecedented wildfires on Friday night.
Evacuation orders in B.C. expanded from 4,000 houses Friday afternoon to about 15,000 by nightfall.
“Tonight as a result of this rapid deterioration, we are declaring a provincial state of emergency to ensure that we have rapid access to any tools that we may need to respond to this situation,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said.
PHOTO: This screengrab from a video provided by Jordan Straker shows vehicles driving on the freeway as people evacuate from Yellowkife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Aug. 16, 2023. (Jordan Straker/UGC via AFP via Getty Images)
Over 380 wildfires have been raging since the beginning of the week throughout western Canada territories, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Fire officials warned on Thursday, they would be facing "the most challenging 24 to 48 hours of the summer," as wildfires that have been ravaging western Canada.
Two wildfires of note, the Stein Mountain wildfire, which was discovered on July 12, and the McDougall Creek wildfire, which was discovered on Tuesday, are classified as "out of control" and have burned through a combined 18,000 acres as of Friday morning, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service.
Cliff Chapman, the British Columbia director of wildfire operations, said in a statement Thursday evening that he is expecting more wildfires to erupt.
MORE: Video Gusty trade winds continue to impede Maui wildfires
"We are expecting significant growth and we are expecting our resources to be challenged from north to south in the province over the next 48 hours," he said in a statement. "Those fires will challenge even our air tanker and helicopter resources and our ground resources as we are likely to see a number of new fires happening across the province."
PHOTO: This August 13, 2023, image provided by Sylvia Webster shows smoke rising from wildfires near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (Sylvia Webster/UGC via AFP via Getty Images)
High winds in western Canada have been contributing to the spread of the flames, officials said. Several B.C. towns and cities have issued evacuation orders and alerts over the wildfires.
A local state of emergency was issued Thursday for the city of Kelowna, which has a population of over 144,000, a portion of Westbank First Nation and the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area. Sixty-eight properties located off Bear Creek Road were ordered to evacuate.
MORE: Canadian wildfire dangers should prompt more proactive mitigation from government: Experts
Residents of Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith, N'dilo, Dettah and the Ingraham Trail, all in the Northwest Territories, were also ordered to evacuate this week because of the fires.
PHOTO: Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Aug. 17, 2023. (Darren Hull/AFP via Getty Images)
Chapman warned that 28 of British Columbia's 34 water basins continue to be operating at worst or second-worst drought levels while fighting the blazes.
PHOTO: This handout satellite image courtesy of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 sattelite taken on Aug. 16, 2023, shows fires burning in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (European Space Agency via AFP/Getty Images)
"So the drought situation is serious in British Columbia ... and the impacts of drought conditions in certain B.C. watersheds will be serious as well," he said.
PHOTO: This handout photo shows the town of Fort Smith, Canada, during the wildfires, on Aug. 13, 2023. (Handout/AFP via Getty Images)
MORE: Canada marks worst wildfire season on record
Canada has seen a rise in wildfires on both coasts this summer, causing black smoke to spread for miles and into the United States.
As of Friday, the fires have burned through over 34 million acres this season, which is larger than New York state, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. This year marks the worst wildfire season on record and doubles the previous high for most acres burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
PHOTO: Canada wildfire graphic (ABC News)
David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, a government agency, told ABC News that the fires have been worse this year because "it's been too hot and too dry for too long." Phillips noted that 50% to 60% of the country was abnormally dry during the spring months, including many agricultural regions.
In Yellowknife, only 0.3 inches of rain has fallen in the last seven weeks, which is roughly 12% of the normal precipitation for the area, according to Phillips.
PHOTO: The McDougall Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside above a lakefront home in West Kelowna, B.C., on Aug. 18, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
He said there was "no question" that climate change was contributing to the rise in the larger fires.
"It’s almost impossible for nature alone to do these things," Phillips told ABC News. "This wildfire season has been ramped up. These fires are bigger and badder."
ABC News' Will Gretsky, Daniel Peck and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report.
British Columbia under province-wide state of emergency due to 'unprecedented' wildfires: Officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
IVAN PEREIRA and RILEY HOFFMAN
Fri, August 18, 2023 at 8:51 PM MDT·3 min read
British Columbia Premier David Eby declared province-wide state of emergency in response to unprecedented wildfires on Friday night.
Evacuation orders in B.C. expanded from 4,000 houses Friday afternoon to about 15,000 by nightfall.
“Tonight as a result of this rapid deterioration, we are declaring a provincial state of emergency to ensure that we have rapid access to any tools that we may need to respond to this situation,” British Columbia Premier David Eby said.
PHOTO: This screengrab from a video provided by Jordan Straker shows vehicles driving on the freeway as people evacuate from Yellowkife, Northwest Territories, Canada, on Aug. 16, 2023. (Jordan Straker/UGC via AFP via Getty Images)
Over 380 wildfires have been raging since the beginning of the week throughout western Canada territories, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Fire officials warned on Thursday, they would be facing "the most challenging 24 to 48 hours of the summer," as wildfires that have been ravaging western Canada.
Two wildfires of note, the Stein Mountain wildfire, which was discovered on July 12, and the McDougall Creek wildfire, which was discovered on Tuesday, are classified as "out of control" and have burned through a combined 18,000 acres as of Friday morning, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service.
Cliff Chapman, the British Columbia director of wildfire operations, said in a statement Thursday evening that he is expecting more wildfires to erupt.
MORE: Video Gusty trade winds continue to impede Maui wildfires
"We are expecting significant growth and we are expecting our resources to be challenged from north to south in the province over the next 48 hours," he said in a statement. "Those fires will challenge even our air tanker and helicopter resources and our ground resources as we are likely to see a number of new fires happening across the province."
PHOTO: This August 13, 2023, image provided by Sylvia Webster shows smoke rising from wildfires near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (Sylvia Webster/UGC via AFP via Getty Images)
High winds in western Canada have been contributing to the spread of the flames, officials said. Several B.C. towns and cities have issued evacuation orders and alerts over the wildfires.
A local state of emergency was issued Thursday for the city of Kelowna, which has a population of over 144,000, a portion of Westbank First Nation and the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area. Sixty-eight properties located off Bear Creek Road were ordered to evacuate.
MORE: Canadian wildfire dangers should prompt more proactive mitigation from government: Experts
Residents of Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Smith, N'dilo, Dettah and the Ingraham Trail, all in the Northwest Territories, were also ordered to evacuate this week because of the fires.
PHOTO: Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Aug. 17, 2023. (Darren Hull/AFP via Getty Images)
Chapman warned that 28 of British Columbia's 34 water basins continue to be operating at worst or second-worst drought levels while fighting the blazes.
PHOTO: This handout satellite image courtesy of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-2 sattelite taken on Aug. 16, 2023, shows fires burning in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. (European Space Agency via AFP/Getty Images)
"So the drought situation is serious in British Columbia ... and the impacts of drought conditions in certain B.C. watersheds will be serious as well," he said.
PHOTO: This handout photo shows the town of Fort Smith, Canada, during the wildfires, on Aug. 13, 2023. (Handout/AFP via Getty Images)
MORE: Canada marks worst wildfire season on record
Canada has seen a rise in wildfires on both coasts this summer, causing black smoke to spread for miles and into the United States.
As of Friday, the fires have burned through over 34 million acres this season, which is larger than New York state, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. This year marks the worst wildfire season on record and doubles the previous high for most acres burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
PHOTO: Canada wildfire graphic (ABC News)
David Phillips, a senior climatologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, a government agency, told ABC News that the fires have been worse this year because "it's been too hot and too dry for too long." Phillips noted that 50% to 60% of the country was abnormally dry during the spring months, including many agricultural regions.
In Yellowknife, only 0.3 inches of rain has fallen in the last seven weeks, which is roughly 12% of the normal precipitation for the area, according to Phillips.
PHOTO: The McDougall Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside above a lakefront home in West Kelowna, B.C., on Aug. 18, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
He said there was "no question" that climate change was contributing to the rise in the larger fires.
"It’s almost impossible for nature alone to do these things," Phillips told ABC News. "This wildfire season has been ramped up. These fires are bigger and badder."
ABC News' Will Gretsky, Daniel Peck and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report.
British Columbia under province-wide state of emergency due to 'unprecedented' wildfires: Officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Where’s that smoke coming from? Online maps show location, status of Idaho wildfires
Shaun Goodwin, Karlee Van De Venter, Genevieve Belmaker
Fri, August 18, 2023
Shaun Goodwin, Karlee Van De Venter, Genevieve Belmaker
Fri, August 18, 2023
If you live in Boise, you may have noticed some smoke creeping over the Foothills and into the Treasure Valley in recent days. It’s coming from multiple active wildfires, big and small, burning throughout the Northwest, particularly in North Idaho, Washington and Canada.
But how can you find out precisely where the fires are?
A vegetation fire retardant burns east of Blacks Creek Road south of Interstate 84, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
But how can you find out precisely where the fires are?
A vegetation fire retardant burns east of Blacks Creek Road south of Interstate 84, Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
Idaho has multiple online resources, including Fish and Game’s interactive fire map. The map shows all active wildfires in the Gem State, and the location of previous fires and burnt acreage from 2023 wildfires. You can click on each fire icon to learn more about the date it started, how many acres have burned and how much of the fire is contained.
The Environmental Protection Agency also runs an interactive fire and smoke map that provides a national view of all fires and smoke coverage.
The Department of Lands posts a detailed map on its website using information from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information system, which shows all active, controlled and inactive fires in Idaho.
The Department of Lands also maintains a fire news feed on which it frequently publishes updates and summaries on specific fires.
Which Idaho agencies issue wildfire alerts?
Idaho’s primary statewide source for wildfire alerts is the Department of Lands. The department issues wildfire alerts across Idaho’s 9 million acres of forests and rangelands, but doesn’t issue evacuation notices. It’s up to the local sheriff’s office to order an evacuation.
The Department of Land’s Twitter and the #IDLFireInfo hashtag are good social media sources for the most recent and frequently updated information.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality also issues air quality advisories based on how much wildfire smoke is in the air. The advisories note where outdoor burning and wood stove or fireplace burning are disallowed in each county.
The DEQ issued a yellow/moderate air quality advisory for Friday in the Treasure Valley, and all outdoor burning in Ada County was banned.
Idaho residents can sign up for emergency notification systems that alert residents of potential dangers, such as weather and wildfires. Here are the best options for the Boise area:
CodeRED - Ada County and City of Boise alert system
Alert Sense - Canyon County alert system
Department of Lands alert system - Alerts for specific forest protective districts
How do you report a wildfire in Idaho?
If you spot a wildfire, don’t assume someone else has reported it. If no emergency crews are on the scene, play it safe and call it in. Idaho fires can be reported to 911 or the local sheriff’s office — for Ada County, the number is (208) 577-3460. If you are on a highway, note the nearest exit or milepost marker.
Once you’ve spotted a wildfire and called emergency services, move as far away from the source of the wildfire as possible.
“If (the fire) is showing that it’s going to grow quickly, you definitely want to get away from it in case it starts growing,” Spencer Tangen, a fire weather forecaster with the National Weather Service in Boise, told the Idaho Statesman. “So if you’re near a fire, you have to be very careful about the direction it could be growing because you don’t want to get trapped by the fire.”
What causes wildfires to start?
There have been 35,702 wildfires nationwide since the start of 2023, burning a total of 1,699,381 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Both numbers are below the past 10-year average, according to NIFC, headquartered in Boise at the airport.
About 40% of fires are caused by lightning, which means the other 60% are human-caused.
Tangen said human-caused wildfires are from some of the simplest things, such as an unattended bonfire or flicking a cigarette butt onto dry grass. He also warned about lesser-known causes, such as hot bullet casings falling on dry fuel and sparks from a chain dragged along a roadway.
Before heading into the wilderness, check for any red flag warnings in the area, Tangen said. A red flag warning is issued by the Weather Service and means conditions are ripe for wildfires to start and spread quickly, such as warm temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.
“When we issue them for the dry and windy conditions, people need to be very careful about anything that could cause a spark in grasses or the forest,” Tangen said
Hurricane Hilary has already made weather history for Idaho. Here’s latest storm forecast
When the latest models and forecast were released for Hurricane Hilary on Friday morning, Idaho found itself in a position it’s never been in before.
Inside the cone of uncertainty.
The National Hurricane Center didn’t start creating cones of uncertainty until 2002, but it’s already a rare instance for the west coast to be impacted by a hurricane.
The cone of uncertainty is the probable track of a named storm from its current position to its evolution into a tropical depression and eventual end.
Hurricane Hilary became a Category 4 hurricane off of Mexican’s west coast on Friday morning. A hurricane of that strength requires sustained wind speeds of 130-156 mph.
The hurricane is on a path to make landfall in the Mexican state of Baja California on Sunday before weakening into a tropical storm as it moves into California. It could drop up to 10 inches of rain in Southern California before weakening into a tropical depression and heading north.
That’s where Idaho comes into play. The cone of uncertainty has the remnants of Hilary moving into Southwest Idaho, while forecast models show the bulk of the storm’s remaining moisture hitting Boise head-on.
According to records at the National Weather Service in Boise, it’s the first time that Idaho has ever been included in a cone of uncertainty.
But there are a few caveats. The National Hurricane Center is responsible for the cone of uncertainty forecast, and the organization didn’t start creating them until July 2002.
“And since then, there’s only been Hurricane Kay last year which approached the Southwest U.S.,” Weather Service meteorologist Spencer Tangen told the Idaho Statesman.
Hurricane Kay approached the California coast before steering westward; it never made landfall. Hilary will be the first hurricane or tropical storm to make landfall in California since an unnamed storm hit the coast in 1939.
It won’t be the first time that the remnants of a hurricane impact Idaho, but it’s rare.
In 1976 Hurricane Kathleen made a path toward the West Coast, but by the time it reached California, it was a tropical depression — the final stage of a storm before it fizzles out. The remnants reached Idaho and, even in weakened form, brought 1.74 inches of rain to Boise, including 1.1 inches in a single hour.
Early predictions from the Weather Service have Boise receiving up to an inch of rain from Sunday to Tuesday, while areas higher in the mountains, such as McCall, could get up to 1.8 inches. The Weather Prediction Center gives Southwest Idaho and surrounding mountains a 15% chance of exceeding flash flood guidance, which is when small rivers break their banks.
Shaun Goodwin
Fri, August 18, 2023
Fri, August 18, 2023
When the latest models and forecast were released for Hurricane Hilary on Friday morning, Idaho found itself in a position it’s never been in before.
Inside the cone of uncertainty.
The National Hurricane Center didn’t start creating cones of uncertainty until 2002, but it’s already a rare instance for the west coast to be impacted by a hurricane.
The cone of uncertainty is the probable track of a named storm from its current position to its evolution into a tropical depression and eventual end.
Hurricane Hilary became a Category 4 hurricane off of Mexican’s west coast on Friday morning. A hurricane of that strength requires sustained wind speeds of 130-156 mph.
The hurricane is on a path to make landfall in the Mexican state of Baja California on Sunday before weakening into a tropical storm as it moves into California. It could drop up to 10 inches of rain in Southern California before weakening into a tropical depression and heading north.
That’s where Idaho comes into play. The cone of uncertainty has the remnants of Hilary moving into Southwest Idaho, while forecast models show the bulk of the storm’s remaining moisture hitting Boise head-on.
According to records at the National Weather Service in Boise, it’s the first time that Idaho has ever been included in a cone of uncertainty.
But there are a few caveats. The National Hurricane Center is responsible for the cone of uncertainty forecast, and the organization didn’t start creating them until July 2002.
“And since then, there’s only been Hurricane Kay last year which approached the Southwest U.S.,” Weather Service meteorologist Spencer Tangen told the Idaho Statesman.
Hurricane Kay approached the California coast before steering westward; it never made landfall. Hilary will be the first hurricane or tropical storm to make landfall in California since an unnamed storm hit the coast in 1939.
It won’t be the first time that the remnants of a hurricane impact Idaho, but it’s rare.
In 1976 Hurricane Kathleen made a path toward the West Coast, but by the time it reached California, it was a tropical depression — the final stage of a storm before it fizzles out. The remnants reached Idaho and, even in weakened form, brought 1.74 inches of rain to Boise, including 1.1 inches in a single hour.
Early predictions from the Weather Service have Boise receiving up to an inch of rain from Sunday to Tuesday, while areas higher in the mountains, such as McCall, could get up to 1.8 inches. The Weather Prediction Center gives Southwest Idaho and surrounding mountains a 15% chance of exceeding flash flood guidance, which is when small rivers break their banks.
Thousands under evacuation orders and some homes burn as wildfires race through Washington state
Associated Press
Updated Fri, August 18, 2023
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Fast-moving wildfires raced through Washington state on Friday, burning some homes and prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people in small rural communities.
One of the largest blazes, the so-called Gray Fire near Spokane in eastern Washington, began around noon and a few hours later had surged through 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) of grass, timber and wheat, pushed by 35-mph (56-kph) winds, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Level 3, or “Go Now,” evacuations were issued for Medical Lake, a community of about 4,800 people and some homes and other buildings had burned, authorities said, although it wasn't clear how many.
National Guard troops were called in to help evacuate patients and staff from Eastern State Hospital, a 367-bed psychiatric facility in Medical Lake.
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said deputies were “running from house to house” urging people to leave their homes, NBC News reported.
“We’ve had to rescue people by boat. We’ve had to rescue people by helicopter,” Nowels said. “If you’re in an evacuation area, leave. We have some folks who refused to leave. Fire then overtakes where they’re at and they need to be rescued.”
Evacuation orders also were issued for nearby Four Lakes, which has about 500 residents and a Level 2 evacuation alert, urging people to "Get Set" to evacuate, was issued Friday night for the city of Cheney, which has more than 13,000 residents. The alert included staff and students at Eastern Washington University, which is located in Cheney.
A second Spokane County blaze dubbed the Oregon Road Fire also prompted evacuations, the Department of Natural Resources said.
That fire broke out near Elk at around 4 p.m. and in only a few hours grew to some 3 square miles (8 square kilometers).
The region was scorched by triple-digit temperatures last week, leaving grasslands and wheat fields ready to burn, said Joe Smillie, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources.
“We haven’t had any real rain all summer, basically,” he said, and then a cooler weather front moved in Thursday, bringing with it gusty winds.
The National Weather Service had warned of “critical fire conditions,” citing dry conditions and the potential for gusty winds that could cause new or existing fires to spread rapidly.
Authorities were calling in more aircraft and firefighters to battle the Gray Fire, which closed down Interstate 90.
South of Spokane, the Winona Fire in Whitman County had burned at least 7.8 square miles (20.2 square kilometers) of grass and brush and prompted evacuations orders for Winona, a tiny hamlet of about 50 residents.
“Cropland, range land, primary structure and secondary structures are threatened,” the Department of Natural Resources said on social media.
The fires were among 36 blazes that erupted around the state in the past two days, although most were small and quickly contained, Smillie said.
There wasn't any immediate word on what sparked the blazes.
Associated Press
Updated Fri, August 18, 2023
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Fast-moving wildfires raced through Washington state on Friday, burning some homes and prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people in small rural communities.
One of the largest blazes, the so-called Gray Fire near Spokane in eastern Washington, began around noon and a few hours later had surged through 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) of grass, timber and wheat, pushed by 35-mph (56-kph) winds, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Level 3, or “Go Now,” evacuations were issued for Medical Lake, a community of about 4,800 people and some homes and other buildings had burned, authorities said, although it wasn't clear how many.
National Guard troops were called in to help evacuate patients and staff from Eastern State Hospital, a 367-bed psychiatric facility in Medical Lake.
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said deputies were “running from house to house” urging people to leave their homes, NBC News reported.
“We’ve had to rescue people by boat. We’ve had to rescue people by helicopter,” Nowels said. “If you’re in an evacuation area, leave. We have some folks who refused to leave. Fire then overtakes where they’re at and they need to be rescued.”
Evacuation orders also were issued for nearby Four Lakes, which has about 500 residents and a Level 2 evacuation alert, urging people to "Get Set" to evacuate, was issued Friday night for the city of Cheney, which has more than 13,000 residents. The alert included staff and students at Eastern Washington University, which is located in Cheney.
A second Spokane County blaze dubbed the Oregon Road Fire also prompted evacuations, the Department of Natural Resources said.
That fire broke out near Elk at around 4 p.m. and in only a few hours grew to some 3 square miles (8 square kilometers).
The region was scorched by triple-digit temperatures last week, leaving grasslands and wheat fields ready to burn, said Joe Smillie, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources.
“We haven’t had any real rain all summer, basically,” he said, and then a cooler weather front moved in Thursday, bringing with it gusty winds.
The National Weather Service had warned of “critical fire conditions,” citing dry conditions and the potential for gusty winds that could cause new or existing fires to spread rapidly.
Authorities were calling in more aircraft and firefighters to battle the Gray Fire, which closed down Interstate 90.
South of Spokane, the Winona Fire in Whitman County had burned at least 7.8 square miles (20.2 square kilometers) of grass and brush and prompted evacuations orders for Winona, a tiny hamlet of about 50 residents.
“Cropland, range land, primary structure and secondary structures are threatened,” the Department of Natural Resources said on social media.
The fires were among 36 blazes that erupted around the state in the past two days, although most were small and quickly contained, Smillie said.
There wasn't any immediate word on what sparked the blazes.
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