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A wind-driven wildfire that ignited north of Airway Heights on Saturday forced thousands of people from their homes after it jumped the Spokane River and pushed into residential neighborhoods in Spokane County, Washington.
Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Courtney James told the Associated Press the Old Trails Fire had burned nearly 4 square miles by Saturday evening, with the cause still under investigation. Local DNR updates later put the fire near 3,000 acres and said at least 5,000 structures were threatened, according to KXLY. Multiple homes were lost, though officials said they did not yet have a firm count, and firefighters reported zero containment as winds continued.
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Evacuations and response
Spokane County Emergency Management issued Level 3 “leave now” orders across expanding zones as the blaze moved north and east. Evacuation shelters opened at Spokane Falls Community College and later at the Spokane Convention Center after the college site lost power, KXLY reported. CNN said city officials also evacuated Spokane’s veterans’ hospital, water reclamation facility, and waste energy plant, and that the nearby Fairview Fire was forcing additional Level 3 orders.
Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized state fire mobilization at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the request of Spokane County Fire District 10 Chief Don Malone, according to a State Fire Marshal release. The fire started about 11:56 a.m., the release said, and Camp Murray’s State Emergency Operations Center moved to Level 2 partial activation while five strike teams were ordered. Washington State Forester George Geissler told reporters about 4,000 buildings were threatened, CNN reported.
Statewide emergency
Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency Saturday and imposed a statewide ban on most outdoor and agricultural burning through Sept. 30, citing drought, heat, and high winds. The National Weather Service issued a particularly dangerous situation Red Flag Warning for eastern Washington, which the Department of Natural Resources said was the first such warning issued in the state. Ferguson’s office said more than 200,000 acres were burning across 12 large fires statewide, and the Department of Natural Resources said more than 1,000 fires had burned about 425,000 acres so far in 2026, the most since 2021.
Utility Avista said it used public safety power shutoffs because of elevated fire risk. Officials urged residents to follow rapidly changing evacuation maps and avoid nonessential travel in the smoke.