Spokane wildfires: Map, smoke tracking tools, and latest update as 3 fires devastate eastern Washington
A series of devastating wildfires near Spokane, Washington, has destroyed roughly 600 structures, forced the evacuation of thousands of people, and remained 0% contained as of Monday morning.
The fires—collectively being referred to as the Spokane Complex Fire—have so far burned more than 7,700 acres, NBC News reports. The Complex Fire comprises three distinct fires: the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire, and the Autumn Lane Fire.
Spokane is Washington’s second largest city and located in the eastern part of the state, near the border with Idaho. Lisa Brown, the city’s mayor, said in a news conference on Sunday that the fires are “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.”
As of early Monday, almost 900 firefighters and other personnel were working to contain the fires, USA Today reports. The cause, yet to be determined, is still under investigation. So far, no injuries have been reported.
How to track the Spokane, Washington, fires
If you’re looking to track the fires, stay on top of the latest alerts, or follow the latest smoke and air-quality data, we’ve rounded up some resources below.
- WFCA.com: The mapping tool from the Western Fire Chiefs lets you pull up various details of any fire. Using data from NASA and NOAA, the tool provides a real-time snapshot and gives you details like a current “threat score” for each fire. Find it here.
- Watch Duty: This app and mapping tool from the nonprofit Watch Duty offers up-to-date information about evacuation orders, details about local shelters, and information about local firefighter personnel. Find it here.
- Wildfire Aware: This app, powered by spatial analytics company Esri, lets you search any active fire in the United States and track its location and spread at a very granular level. As described, “the data included in this application can all be found in ArcGIS Living Atlas and are from authoritative entities.” Find it here.
This story is developing…