NPR Adds Details on Wildfire Arson Arrests

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Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Spokane residents forced to evacuate as wildfires destroy homes Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown says nearly half of the city's neighborhoods have either been evacuated or are at risk as the fires remain uncontained. National Washington wildfires destroy homes, force thousands to evacuate Updated August 3, 20263:27 PM ET Originally published August 3, 202610:28 AM ET By Kirk Siegler , Scott Neuman Allen Sather and his wife Kimberley embrace at the duplex they rent on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. Young Kwak/AP hide caption SPOKANE, Wash. — Cooler temperatures forecasted in the Spokane, Wash. area could help firefighters in the region who are battling three major wildfires that have burned through more than 7,000 acres, destroyed some 700 structures and forced the evacuation of about 65,000 people. There have been no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The fires are among 17 statewide, officials said. Speaking to NPR's Morning Edition, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said nearly half of the city's neighborhoods have either been evacuated or are at risk as the fire that has engulfed about 12 square miles has yet to be contained. "A very large geography has been labeled Level 3, which means get out immediately," Brown told NPR Monday morning. "We've had fires before, but just not to this magnitude." The Old Trails Fire, the largest that is burning northwest of Spokane, encompasses more than 3,600 acres, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources. The Autumn Lane Fire and the Fairview Fire were also threatening Spokane, Washington's second-largest city with a population of more than 230,000. The cooler temperatures could help aid firefighters, but so far, they have not made much progress, Brown said. "I'm sorry to report that the winds have shifted and the fires are not contained up to this point." There is also no rain in the immediate forecast. Brown said few in the state are surprised by wildfires. "We have known for years of the dangers of the changing climate and have been working to reduce the risk. But this is an unprecedented situation and it's not over yet." Speaking later at Monday morning news conference held by Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and other local, state and federal officials, Brown said: "The geographic and political boundaries that separate us are invisible. Today we are pulling together." "We will get through this," she added. In some neighborhoods, videos showed black smoke billowing from neighborhoods where only brick chimneys remained later where houses once stood, according to the Associated Press. Charlie Patrick evacuated on Saturday and is staying with her son at the Red Cross shelter at the Spokane Convention Center. Patrick, who is 54 and disabled, said she left her apartment with nothing and doesn't know whether it burned down. "I hope it is still there," she says, choking back tears. "I have a lot of memories and pictures and stuff but I can't get back." Charlie Patrick had to leave her home ahead of the flames on Saturday and is staying with her son at the Red Cross shelter at the Spokane Convention Center. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption Alicia Davidson and her husband lost their home in the fires. "Just to have everything gone and to know that, shoot, we have to completely start over — we have nothing. You know, all the things that could have been the home that we were building, growing in. It sucks," Davidson told Northwest Public Broadcasting's Anna King. Hundreds of people, including many elderly are staying at the Red Cross shelter in downtown Spokane. Nursing staff helped people change clothes behind blankets. At the Monday news conference, Ferguson said he had spoken with President Trump and Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin. "The president was very gracious, as was Secretary Mullin," the governor said. "He was knowledgeable about the situation and I appreciated that." Ferguson, a Democrat, added, "I obviously am aware sometimes of challenges of some states receiving FEMA funding," he said. "I'm making as compelling a case as possible." Later, in an interview with NPR's Here & Now, Ferguson described Spokane as a "war zone" and said the state had "put in our request immediately to the federal government for an emergency declaration to get immediate relief." At the news conference, Sen. Maria Cantwell said the fires stem from "a historic weather event" — El Niño-fueled hot, dry conditions. "That historic weather event has caused probably one of the biggest damages that we have seen in the Spokane area in the history of our state," she said. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor