Authorities forced thousands of people to evacuate on Saturday as a wildfire spread rapidly near the city of Spokane in the US state of Washington. A state of emergency has been declared across the state amid what is shaping up to be one of its worst wildfire seasons on record.
Amid a record drought for the fourth year in a row, more than 200,000 acres are burning across the north-western state.
Governor Bob Ferguson said in a statement: “Record drought and strong winds have created dangerous conditions across the state.”
He said that lighting fires in most open spaces and for farming had been banned until the end of September.
Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said: “We are already having one of the busiest wildfire seasons on record this year — and the month of August has only just begun.”
The local Spokesman-Review newspaper reported that the fire, known as “Old Trails”, crossed the Spokane River on Saturday afternoon and entered the city.
According to the government’s evacuation map, the highest-level “Go Now” alert has been issued for a large area in the northern part of the city, telling thousands of people within the city limits to leave the area immediately.
The Spokesman-Review said that by 8:20pm local time the fire had spread to more than 3,500 acres. City authorities reported no casualties.
Major General Gent Welsh told a news conference: “After the sun sets today and when the sun rises tomorrow, we will be stunned.”
Emergency authorities have opened a shelter for those affected by the fire at the Spokane Convention Center.
Earlier on Saturday, the US National Weather Service issued a “red flag warning” for eastern Washington, citing a “particularly dangerous situation” and describing the weather-related risk as “extreme”.
The Washington National Guard said in a post on X that it was “rapidly deploying units” to help in the Spokane area.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report