A fast-moving wildfire in Spokane County, Washington, has forced residents to evacuate their homes as crews worked to quell the blaze Saturday.
The highest level of evacuation order, Level 3, was issued for several areas in the Spokane area due to the Old Trails Fire, local emergency management officials said, urging residents to “leave now due to the life-threatening conditions.” An evacuation shelter was opened at a community college for residents fleeing their homes.
The full extent of the damage is not yet clear, but officials said the fire is impacting structures. Just after midnight on Sunday morning, the Old Trails fire has already burned over 3,000 acres and is threatening up to 5,000 structures, Washington Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Jessica Walston told CNN.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson implemented a statewide state of emergency and burn ban Saturday morning as the National Weather Service issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning across Central and Eastern Washington – a rare designation reserved for the most severe fire weather conditions.
The fire started around noon Saturday. State firefighters were mobilized around 1:30 p.m., according to a news release from the Washington State Fire Marshal. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
The wildfire is growing as Washington is in the middle of its fourth consecutive statewide drought, according to the governor’s office. More than 1,000 fires have burned about 425,000 acres so far this year — the most burned since 2021, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
CNN’s Hanna Park contributed to this report.
