Spokane fires burn roughly 700 structures, Ferguson to give update

Isabella Breda, The Seattle Times on Aug 2, 2026

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Thousands of people have been evacuated as a fast-moving wildfire driven by strong winds and high temperatures swept across northwest Spokane and jumped the Spokane River.

Gov. Bob Ferguson plans a news conference at noon Pacific time.

Roughly 700 structures have been lost in three wildfires now known as the Spokane Complex, Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach told The Seattle Times in a phone call Sunday morning. That’s a preliminary estimate including homes, outbuildings and other structures. That number is likely to change.

Rohrbach said there are no known deaths or reported injuries but noted that it is still very early. He said one engine was completely burned during the initial attack on the fire, but the engine's operator escaped safely.

A California complex incident management team has been briefed and will assume leadership of the fire Sunday morning. The team had just arrived to the Fox fire in Oregon when they were redirected to Spokane Saturday afternoon, said Benjamin Cossel, spokesperson for California Interagency Incident Management Team 7.

The Old Trails fire, the largest of the three blazes, sparked around noon Saturday. The National Weather Service for the first time in Washington issued a “particularly dangerous situation” alert — a step above a red flag warning.

Spokane County fire districts had planned for this, escalating their readiness to the highest level and had prepositioned resources. The winds and extreme rate of spread sent fire ripping into residential areas around Spokane. It was spotting well ahead of the flame front as the winds tossed embers into pine trees.

Aircraft, such as planes and helicopters to drop water and retardant, were ordered immediately, Rohrbach said. More than 20 aircraft were assigned. Smoke, however, made for some of the worst conditions and limited visibility, he said.

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