{"id":798574,"date":"2026-08-02T03:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T03:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/798574\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T03:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T03:36:09","slug":"when-the-sun-rises-we-are-going-to-be-in-shock-thousands-evacuated-in-north-spokane-as-wildfire-crosses-river-into-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/798574\/","title":{"rendered":"‘When the sun rises, we are going to be in shock’: Thousands evacuated in north Spokane as wildfire crosses river into city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A wildfire driven by high winds jumped the Spokane River Saturday afternoon and burned into city neighborhoods on the bluffs above the river.<\/p>\n

Multiple homes were on fire and explosions could be heard at 5:20 p.m. in the Indian Trail Neighborhood, which has been under evacuation orders for hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Level 3 (go now) evacuation orders in the city were issued just before 3:30 p.m., affecting thousands of people within the Spokane city limits. They were later expanded to include all of the city north of Francis Avenue and west of Division Street.\u00a0Officials urged all residents in the evacuation zone to leave immediately.<\/p>\n

The city of Spokane has opened a fire evacuation center at the Spokane Convention Center at 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.<\/p>\n

The Spokane County Fairgrounds has areas open for people with RVs and also has room for people who need space for evacuated animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Old Trails fire was reported to have grown to 2,500 acres by 4:30 p.m., pushed by wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extraordinary fire season. This is not normal; this is unusual,\u201d Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said at a joint news conference on the fire with Ferguson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upthegrove said all necessary resources are being assigned to help prevent loss of life and property.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to do what it takes to keep this state safe,\u201d Upthegrove said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Major Gen. Gent Welsh, Washington\u2019s adjutant general, said at the news conference that the current fire conditions are the worst he\u2019s seen in his 38-year career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the sun sets and the sun rises, we are going to be in shock,\u201d Welsh said.<\/p>\n

While homes could be seen burning in some areas, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said at the same news conference that it\u2019s too early for numbers on losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not in a place right now where we can discuss the magnitude of the property destruction,\u201d Brown said.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\"Pink
\n<\/a>
\nPink areas were level 3 (go now) evacuation zones as of 5:45 p.m. Saturday. (Spokane County Emergency Management)<\/p>\n

Another fire in the Peone Prairie area, the 700-acre Fairview fire, sparked another vast evacuation zone from Market Street to Forker Road between Mount Spokane Park Drive on the north to Orchard Road on the south.<\/p>\n

Avista Utilities reported about 40,000 \u00a0customers without power in the Spokane area, many as a preemptive measure across the city, including areas not within the evacuation area.<\/p>\n

Avista spokesman David Vowels said Saturday was a long day as multiple fires threatened the utility\u2019s grid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are still a lot of customers impacted,\u201d he said Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

Vowels provided a statement from the company that said the Old Trails fire did not spark from the utility\u2019s infrastructure, but that some parts were damaged in the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of outages as a result,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThese are a result of the fire and are unconnected with Public Safety Power Shutoffs that have been implemented today.\u00a0 We will begin the process of assessing potential restoration needs when it is safe to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vowels said customers can track outages resulting from high winds, fire damage or in the interest of public safety on Avista\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Brown said in an interview about 5 p.m. that Gov. Bob Ferguson has activated the National Guard to help with the fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She urged people to stay off the roads in north Spokane unless they are evacuating.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraffic congestion is complicating the response,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She, along with the fire and police chief, were helping to coordinate response at the city\u2019s emergency management center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The blaze comes as the National Weather Service on Friday issued a historic first warning for Eastern Washington of \u201cparticularly dangerous\u201d weather, which is a step up from the typical red flag warnings the agency issues on hot, dry and windy days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means that new fires will grow rapidly and out of control,\u201d the warning reads. \u201cBe on alert for fire starts and be prepared to evacuate immediately for all fires.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Married couple Nancy and Darrell Wagner stood outside the Red Cross evacuation center set up at the student athletic center at Spokane Falls Community College as their dog Fritz nervously yapped in the grass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never done this before,\u201d said Darrell, 76.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple left their home in Indian Trail as quick as possible when they received the notice to evacuate. Other neighbors in the area said they\u2019d seen nearby homes burn, so the couple grabbed their dog, not much else, and left.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve lived in that house for 31 years now,\u201d Darrell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if it\u2019s still standing,\u201d added Nancy, 73.<\/p>\n

Spokane City Councilwoman Kitty Klitzke, who represents northwest Spokane, said Spokane Transit Authority buses were assisting in evacuations.<\/p>\n

Spokane County Commissioner Al French, who represents the West Plains and Indian Trails neighborhoods, said the damage left in the wake could be \u201ctragic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not in the path of the fires, reach out to friends, because a lot of folks are going to need a safe place to reside and hold up in until this risk goes away,\u201d French said. \u201cBe a good neighbor and help your neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelter opens<\/p>\n

The Red Cross set up an emergency evacuation center at the Student Athletic Center at Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 W. Whistalks Way, on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the center is without power, said volunteer Rebecca Griffin. Still, they\u2019re stocked with snacks, water, first aid and toiletries to aid any evacuees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll serve dinner this evening, Griffin said, and set up cots if people need to stay the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dozens of evacuees trickled in and out of the center, carrying their pets and some belongings. The center is set up to shelter household pets. Larger animals like horses and livestock can be kept at the Spokane County Fairgrounds, according to Spokane County Emergency Management Facebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The center at SFCC is the only evacuation center set up for this fire in Spokane, Griffin said, they considered setting up at Northwood Middle School, but instead decided to concentrate resources at SFCC. The school was selected strategically to accommodate a large amount of people and stay far from fire risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on where the winds are, this spot was chosen with care,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cOur disaster program manager who is coordinating this, she is a former firefighter, so she was paying attention to where the fire could be heading when she chose this location.\u201d<\/p>\n

A brutal firefight<\/p>\n


\n\"NOAA
\n<\/a>
\nNOAA Satellite image (NOAA )<\/p>\n

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels called in all deputies Saturday to assist with door-to-door evacuations, French said. Meanwhile, Chandra Fox, deputy director of emergency management for the county, is coordinating with the state Department of Natural Resources and other agencies to get more wildland firefighters.<\/p>\n

Brown said city police also were rushing to help evacuated residents.<\/p>\n

Among fire crews called in to help were some from the Coeur d\u2019Alene Fire Department.<\/p>\n

Flames and smoke were cascading over trees next to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, 3624 W. Indian Trail Road, about 4:30 p.m. Fire crews were on scene working to protect the school and church. Police were speeding north on North Indian Trail Road while residents were fleeing southbound.<\/p>\n

The Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center is under an evacuation order. Some patients have been transferred, including seven to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and another seven to Holy Family Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just get out so fast, you don\u2019t even think, you\u2019ve just got to get out,\u201d said Crystal Harris, whose home is near the VA Hospital, where she works as a social worker. \u201cYou see it and it\u2019s terrifying, you\u2019re just thinking, \u2018Ahh, get my stuff.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, residents at Spokane Health and Rehabilitation Home at 6025 N. Assembly St. were being evacuated as residents waited in the shade and grass for evacuation busses.<\/p>\n

Cars full of evacuating residents could be seen stretching south along Northwest Boulevard. Smoke is so thick it\u2019s blotting out the sun on North Driscoll Boulevard and West Francis Avenue.<\/p>\n

Flames were visible as trees in the dry Riverside State Park erupted in towering flames.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you think it\u2019s bad, it just gets worse.\u201d said Lon Migala, who was raised in Southern California. \u201cThis is worse than even the fires I\u2019ve seen down there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firefighters assisted by aircraft were attempting to protect neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Wind picked up around noon in Spokane, with 25 to 35 mph gusts blowing toward the east and northeast, said Antoinette Serrato, National Weather Service meteorologist. Those will start to die down around 8 p.m.\u00a0The \u201cparticularly dangerous\u201d weather warning was only meant to be in place from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The less severe red flag warning is in effect from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fire quickly spread near Nine Mile Road. Residents near Nine Mile on North Greenwood Boulevard were spraying down their homes and their neighbors\u2019 homes. Some were wetting down firewood outside their houses. Theresa Sullivan, who was spraying down her home with a house and her neighbor\u2019s home, said \u201cIt\u2019s never been this close before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought it would be up here,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those living along Northwest Boulevard congregated along the ledge by the road. Across the Spokane River, flames covered a hillside just miles away.<\/p>\n

As cars fled the flames bumper to bumper along for miles, those out of danger watched from picnic blankets.<\/p>\n

In 30 years living in Spokane, Michael Keller said he had never seen fire get so close to the city\u2019s core.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen it this bad. It has never in my life been this close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Keller\u2019s wife and adult son had just left to go towards the evacuation zone, hoping to recover items from the empty home of a relative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll even get in. They\u2019re trying save we stuff, but I\u2019m really worried about them if they do make it in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It started hours earlier on the West Plains, but quickly tore through 350 to 400 acres in the area around West Euclid Road and North Old Trails Road within about an hour and a half of starting, according to the Watch Duty website. Not long after, it spread into Riverside State Park and jumped the Spokane River into the city. Gusts in Airway Heights are forecasted to reach up to 45 mph Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMultiple structures are imminently threatened,\u201d according to the website. Firefighters could be seen on the roofs of houses trying to save the homes from burning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bob Moore raced up North Government Way Saturday but was intercepted by Spokane Police.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got to let me go up there, man,\u201d Moore called from his truck window.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t let you up there right now,\u201d the officer told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy shop, my house. I need to protect my house,\u201d Moore pleaded.<\/p>\n

The officer called around, made an attempt to try and get Moore up to his home. \u201cI\u2019m worried about my stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d the officer told him.<\/p>\n

Moore told The Spokesman-Review his wife grabbed their \u201cgo-bags\u201d and their dogs and was waiting at the bottom of the hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe called and said \u2018You got to come home right now.,\u2019\u201d Moore said as he watched the plume of smoke erupt past Riverside State Park.<\/p>\n

Others who were intercepted at the roadblock on North Government Way were crying and pleading with police to let them up the hill. There was nothing police could do, they said.<\/p>\n

The Spokane County Commission intends to have an emergency meeting at 8 pm to declare a state of emergency in the county. It will grant Nowels and Fox authority to bypass protocol for purchasing equipment and supplies. It will also start the process for getting state and any potential federal support, said Spokane County spokeswoman Martha Lou Wheatley Billeter.<\/p>\n

\"AA huge plume of smoke from the Old Trails Fire blots out a beautiful Saturday sky as multiple fires cause damage and stretch fire resources to the limit on Saturday, Aug. 1 2026, in Spokane. This view is from southeastern Spokane looking north with the plume of smoke heading east. (Christopher Anderson\/For The Spokesman-Review)<\/p>\n

This is a developing story and will be updated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spokesman-Review staffers Alayna Shulman, Jonathan Brunt, Ricky Schodl, Elena Perry, Nick Gibson and John Stucke contributed to this article. Freelancer Jordan Tolley-Turner contributed reporting as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A wildfire driven by high winds jumped the Spokane River Saturday afternoon and burned into city neighborhoods on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-798574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}