Red flag warnings have been issued for Eastern Washington as wildfires burn, temperatures climb to triple digits and forecasts call for windy conditions.
The potential for thunderstorms near large fires exacerbated the risk of new sparks Thursday night into Friday.
The region is blanketed in smoke, prompting air quality alerts from the National Weather Service in 13 counties.
Some of the worst smoke Thursday was concentrated around Moses Lake, Quincy and Soap Lake because of the new nearby Railroad fire and the much larger Kaiser Canyon fire that has been expanding on the Colville Reservation for a week.
Joey Clevenger, meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said winds forecast to come from the west and southwest could offer some reprieve from the smoke starting Friday, though wind is a double-edged sword during fire season.
"Fire concerns are part of the issue ..." Clevenger said. "Yeah, the air quality might be better, but it's another thing to worry about."
The whole eastern side of the state is under fire watch on Saturday, Clevenger said, forecast to be windy, dry and hot.
He is wary of new sparks that could spread quickly in these conditions.
"Take caution if you're doing anything, like with yard equipment that can cause a spark, anything that can produce a spark, to hopefully not get out of hand," Clevenger said.
Potential power shutoff from Avista
Avista is alerting customers of a potential public safety power shutoff Saturday afternoon for up to 24 hours in the Indian Trail area of Northwest Spokane in the event weather conditions worsen. Avista said the planned outage is a necessary action to protect public safety and dampen wildfire risk.
A public safety power shutoff is a targeted, temporary outage in areas facing severe wildfire risk, with weather conditions like high wind and low humidity. The measure is a last resort to keep the public safe.
In Eastern Washington, wildfires have burned more than 143,000 acres this summer.
If power is shut off at a location, the utility won't turn it back on until it's inspected and can be done safely, they said.
Here's a look at where several large wildland fires stand as of Thursday.
Railroad fire
A fire started late Wednesday night in Grant County burned 660 acres and seven homes overnight near the towns of Beverly and Schwana .
The Railroad fire was at zero percent containment as of Thursday evening, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer at the Grant County Sheriff's Office.
The fire prompted Level 3 "go now" evacuations in Beverly, Schwana and along Crab Creek Road that were still in effect Thursday night, Foreman said. Level 1 "get ready" evacuations were issued south of Beverly, from the Saddle Mountains to Mattawa along state Route 243.
The Red Cross set up an emergency shelter for evacuees at Wahluke High School in Mattawa.
No casualties or injuries have been reported as a result of the blaze, Foreman said.
All seven homes destroyed were in Beverly, Foreman said, and the town also lost several outbuildings. It burned inside the city limits of Schwana, but didn't take any buildings.
Foreman estimated 280 households affected by the wildfire have lost power from downed power lines in the area. No timeline has been announced on when service will be restored.
The Railroad fire was reported around 11 p.m. Wednesday, Foreman said. Its point of origin was determined to be an old railroad bridge over the Columbia River between Grant and Kittitas counties now used for recreation.
"We spent most the night just chasing the fire and getting people out the way," Foreman said. "It was a frantic and scary several hours over the night."
The fire picked up speed and headed in unpredictable directions because of Wednesday night's winds, gusting at up to 30 mph as it consumed sagebrush as fuel.
There were around 60 personnel from local fire districts in Grant and Kittitas counties fighting the fire overnight. State resources have since been mobilized, Foreman said, sending aircraft to dump water on the "last big area" of fire left to extinguish along Crab Creek Road, a few miles east of state Route 243.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Kaiser Canyon fire
The largest active blaze burning in Washington, the Kaiser Canyon fire, is 3% contained with a nearly 90,000-acre footprint. It was started by a lightning strike on the Colville Reservation, near Nespelem, July 16.
Lower humidity, high temperatures and increasing winds caused the fire to spread in recent days, with this behavior expected to continue through the red flag warning in effect through Saturday.
According to government wildfire tracker Inciweb, there is a chance of thunderstorms in the area on Thursday, which could cause erratic wind spurring unpredictable fire behavior. Lightning strikes carry the potential of new fire starts.
More than 1,000 people were displaced as a result of evacuation orders, and 800 structures threatened, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.
There are 565 personnel assigned to the fire from tribal and state firefighting agencies.
Level 3 "go now" evacuations were in place Thursday night for Kartar and Coyote Creek Road. Some areas have been downgraded to Level 2 "get set" evacuation notices. They're in place from state Route 155 in Nespelem and the intersection of School House Loop Road to Columbia River Road, extending to the Fish Farm Net Pens and Columbia River. Also under Level 2 notice is the area from state Route 155 south of the Nespelem Agency to Belvedere and the Columbia River. Route 155 at the intersection of Buffalo Lake Road is under Level 2 notice to the Nespelem Agency to the north side of Nespelem.
Modrite fire
There is no containment on the Modrite fire, which started from a lightning strike the evening of July 17 and has since torched more than 9,000 acres. It started 17 miles southwest of Inchelium and has burned to the banks of Lake Roosevelt, across the lake from Hunters and Fruitland.
The fire has claimed an estimated five structures, according to Inciweb.
A chance of thunderstorms in the area brings associated risks of increased fire activity, according to Inciweb, with lightning strikes that could spark more fires and winds associated with potential storms.
Level 3 "go now" evacuations were in effect Thursday night for Wilmont Creek Road, from Falls Creek Road to near Four Corners. Wilmont Road is closed at Twin Lakes. Level 1 "get ready" evacuations were in effect Thursday night between Falls Creek Road to north of Kewa Road. Silver Creek Road is closed between Four Corners and Kewa Road, according to Inciweb.
If the fire moves north of Coyote Creek drainage, it could threaten structures in the Kewa Road area, according to Inciweb, prompting more evacuations.
Royal Lake fire
The Royal Lake fire started from a lightning strike the morning of July 16 in Adams County, north of state Route 26 and west of Othello.
It's around 95% contained, according to the Southeast Washington Interagency Management Team, and burned nearly 2,000 acres of mostly public land.
No injuries were reported and no structures were lost from the fire.
Lyons Ferry, Devil's Canyon, Wallace Walker and Neff Jones fires
Four separate fires burning along the Snake River in Whitman and Franklin counties are each fully contained as of Wednesday and combined have consumed more than 46,000 acres.
Crews have been released from fighting these fires, according to the Southeast Washington Interagency Management Team, though some smoke is still visible.
Fire risk remains high due to weather and the possibility of thunderstorms.
Two people had burn injuries that were treated and released, according to the agency, and there weren't any reported damages to structures from the fire.
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