Wind-Driven Wildfires Tear Through Spokane, Destroying Hundreds of Homes as Governor Declares Emergency

By Orbis Weather Staff | August 2, 2026

A cluster of explosive, wind-driven wildfires has cut directly into the city of Spokane, Washington, destroying hundreds of structures, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee, and prompting the governor to declare a statewide state of emergency in what local officials are calling one of the most destructive fires in the state’s history.

From Grassland to City Blocks in Hours

The largest of the fires, dubbed the Old Trails Fire, ignited Saturday, August 1, on the West Plains near Airway Heights. Fanned by wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph and fed by bone-dry vegetation amid a record-setting statewide drought, the fire grew from an estimated 300 acres within its first hour to more than 5,000 acres by Sunday morning. Rather than staying confined to open land, the fire pushed northeast into Riverside State Park, jumped the Spokane River, climbed the bluffs beyond it, and advanced directly into residential neighborhoods in northwest and northeast Spokane — an urban-interface path that caught many residents off guard.

Two additional fires, the Fairview Fire near Mead and the Autumn Lane Fire, are burning at the same time, further straining firefighting resources across the region. A separate, ember-sparked fire in Stevens County’s Suncrest area has burned at least three homes.

Hundreds of Structures Lost, Tens of Thousands Evacuated

Spokane Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach has confirmed at least 640 structures destroyed by the Old Trails Fire alone, with some estimates from other agencies putting the total closer to 700 across all the fires combined, many of them within Spokane city limits. More than 65,000 residents have been placed under evacuation orders, with Level 3 “leave now” notices issued for large sections of the affected neighborhoods. The Spokane Convention Center has been converted into an emergency shelter for displaced residents.

As of the latest briefing, no deaths have been reported — a notable outcome given the fire’s speed and the number of structures lost. The cause of the Old Trails Fire remains under investigation. More than 11,000 utility customers have lost power, the majority of them in Spokane County.

A Statewide Emergency

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency Saturday and issued a burn ban on outdoor and agricultural burning that will remain in effect through September 30. Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown separately declared a local state of emergency, and Ferguson traveled to Spokane on Sunday to assess the damage firsthand. Given the scale of the incident, a California Interagency Incident Management Team assumed command of firefighting operations Sunday morning, and the Washington National Guard has been activated to support local crews.

The National Weather Service issued what it described as a “particularly dangerous situation” Red Flag Warning for the region — a designation local meteorologists say may be a first for Eastern Washington — reflecting the extreme combination of wind, heat, and low humidity driving the fire’s behavior.

Assistant Spokane Fire Chief Lance Dahl summed up the challenge facing crews: “There is not a fire department in the U.S. that can handle a wind-driven event this size.”

Part of a Punishing Fire Season

The Spokane fires arrive amid what is already shaping up to be Washington’s worst wildfire season since 2021. The state has recorded more than 1,000 fires that have burned approximately 425,000 acres so far in 2026, against a backdrop of persistent drought and unusually high summer temperatures. Some local reporting has already floated the possibility that the Old Trails Fire could prove to be the largest and most destructive fire in Washington’s recorded history, though official comparisons and containment figures have not yet been released.

Orbis Weather will continue to monitor conditions in Spokane and provide updates as containment progresses and damage assessments are finalized.

Orbis Weather Staff report, compiled from reporting by The Spokesman-Review, the Washington State Standard, NPR, KPTV, and Forbes.