Photo: WSDOT East @WSDOT_East / Courtesy
Authorities reported that a second person died in the wildfires in eastern Washington state that started Fridaywhich burned hundreds of structures and prompted evacuations in several cities.
A body was found in the area burned by the Oregon fire north of Spokane on Sunday afternoon.firefighters told The Associated Press on Monday.
Another person died in connection with the Gray fire that started Friday west of Spokane, according to a report from authorities released over the weekend.
Governor Jay Inslee visited the burned areas on Sunday and declared a state emergency. And is that the fires have destroyed at least 265 structures and burned more than 53 combined square miles across the state this year.
Inslee said Monday that he had spoken with President Joe Biden and federal emergency management administrator Deanne Criswell about obtaining federal dollars to help with firefighting efforts.
“I appreciated President Biden’s call this morning to share his concern about the devastating Spokane County wildfires and what can be done to secure federal aid,” Inslee said Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Inslee said Criswell told him the agency would work with Washington to assess the damage as quickly as possible to see what federal aid the state may qualify for.
Criswell, who spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday as Biden flew to tour the damage caused by the wildfires in Hawaii, indicated that FEMA had response teams integrated with Washington state emergency authorities. “and stand ready to support any requests for resources as needed.”
The Gray Fire started near Medical Lake in Spokane County around noon Friday and had burned about 15.6 square miles as of Monday.
At least 185 structures have been destroyed or damaged and more are expected once crews can make an accurate assessment, according to Isabelle Hoygaard, public information officer for the Gray fire incident management team.
The most significant damage was reported in the small town of Medical Lake and in nearby Silver Lake, Hoygaard said.
Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper said 5,000 residents had been displaced due to the fire, KREM-TV reported.
Hoygaard said a section of Interstate 90 that had closed due to the flames and burned trees that fell on the road reopened Monday afternoon.
Some of the mandatory evacuations eased Monday, according to Spokane County Emergency Management.
The Oregon fire started Friday afternoon northeast of Elk, Washington. According to fire officials, as of Monday it had consumed about 15.8 square miles of forest and farmland.
Additionally, more than 80 structures have burned in that fire and about 150 remain at risk, according to Guy Gifford, public information officer for the Oregon fire.
Mandatory evacuations have been conducted around both fires.
“There may not be formal notice that you need to evacuate,” fire managers said on the fire incident reporting system website.
The cause of both fires is under investigation. The two started in dry and windy conditions that had prompted critical fire danger warnings in the region.
The air quality around Spokane was the worst in the country on Sunday and the poor air quality continued into Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Spokane.
Areas of western Washington that had experienced smoky conditions on Sunday began to see some improvement on Monday.
Keep reading:
· Mexico confirms the death of 2 Mexican people among the more than 100 deaths from the fires in Hawaii
· One dead, infrastructure destroyed and evacuations after forest fires in Washington state
People jump into the water to flee the forest fires in Hawaii