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By Amanda Greenwood
Associate News Editor
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Satellite images captured by NASA show thick plumes of wildfire smoke streaming across eastern Washington as the Spokane-area fires continue to burn, damaging hundreds of structures, prompting evacuations and pushing air quality to dangerous levels.
The image, captured on August 2, shows smoke pouring east-northeast across Washington and into Idaho, Montana and several Canadian provinces. NASA said the smoke was coming from the Little Giant Fire west of Chelan, as well as a cluster of fires near Spokane that ignited over the weekend.
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The Spokane-area fires include the Old Trails Fire, Fairview Fire and Autumn Lane Fire.
Combined, the fires had burned around 5,400 acres by August 2, before growing to more than 7,500 acres at the time of publishing. Reports indicate that at least 700 structures have been destroyed by the fires, forcing the evacuation of about 60,000 people in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties.
Images from Nearmap show homes and entire blocks burned down to the ground in Spokane County, with some neighborhoods appearing intact in earlier June imagery before being overrun by flames.
Why People Are Being Told To Stay Inside
Smoke from the Washington fires has sharply reduced air quality across parts of the Pacific Northwest. NASA said the Spokane-area fires, together with other fires in the state, contributed to “very unhealthy” air quality in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties.
The Washington Department of Ecology, Colville Confederated Tribes, Environmental Protection Agency and Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency also issued an Air Quality Alert for several eastern Washington counties, including Spokane County, warning that fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, may reach “Very Unhealthy” levels.
PM2.5 refers to tiny airborne particles that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller. Because these particles are so small, they can travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream, potentially aggravating asthma, heart disease, and other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions.
When air quality reaches “Very Unhealthy” levels, everyone is advised to reduce exposure, while children, older adults, pregnant people and those with heart or lung conditions face greater risk.
Residents in affected areas are being urged to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, use filtered indoor air where possible and avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Risk
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The Spokane fires come during a period of extreme fire weather across Washington.
NASA noted that strong winds, high temperatures and dry fuels led the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue Washington’s first-ever “particularly dangerous situation” fire weather alert on July 31, a designation generally reserved for the most severe fire conditions.
A Red Flag Warning means critical fire weather conditions are either occurring or will occur soon. These warnings are issued when combinations of strong winds, low humidity, dry fuels and warm temperatures can support rapid fire growth.
The current Red Flag Warning information provided by the NWS includes Washington’s western Columbia River Gorge, where dry conditions and easterly winds up to 38 mph were expected. That alert affects parts of the Western Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Washington. While this warning is not specific to Spokane County, it reflects the broader fire-weather danger across Washington as firefighters battle major blazes elsewhere in the state.
People in areas under Red Flag Warnings should stop outdoor burning, avoid activities that could produce sparks, follow local fire restrictions, not park hot vehicles on dry grass, and make sure they have multiple ways to receive emergency alerts.
Evacuations and Damage
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties as fires spread rapidly through dry vegetation and neighborhoods.
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The map shows the latest evacuation zones in Spokane and surrounding areas as officials continue to warn residents in the path of the fires to leave immediately or prepare to evacuate.
Some areas are under Level 1 ("Be Ready"), Level 2 ("Be Set"), and Level 3 ("Go Now") evacuation orders as firefighters continue to battle the blazes.
Newsweek has reached out to the firefighting incident team by email for comment.
Wildfires Burning Across the US
The Spokane fires are part of a much broader wildfire outbreak across the United States. American Forests’ active wildfire dashboard shows that, at the time of publishing, 524 active U.S. wildfires have torched 3.6 million acres.
American Forests says wildfires are a natural part of forest ecosystems, but hotter and drier conditions linked to climate change have contributed to an increase in destructive, high-severity fires.
NASA said Washington’s fire season has been intensified by drought, low snowpack, high temperatures, strong winds and dry vegetation.
By the start of August, more than 1,000 fires had burned about 425,000 acres in Washington since the beginning of the year, the most since 2021, with 12 large fires still active.
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