‘Overwhelming amount of damage’: Fight against Spokane fires

Published 11:45 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Firefighters were still battling Monday to gain control of wildfires that tore through residential areas in and around Spokane over the weekend.

The three fires that are part of the Spokane Complex have scorched more than 10,000 acres, according to figures updated Aug. 3. Initial estimates indicate around 700 homes and other buildings had burned. No deaths were reported as of midday Monday.

On Monday night, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said authorities had arrested a suspect for arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, which had burned more than 3,000 acres and destroyed structures. The 37-year-old man was arrested without incident and booked into Spokane County jail, police said.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation into the fires was ongoing and that authorities were still looking into the origins of the other two fires.

Tom Clemo, incident commander with California Interagency Incident Management Team 7, said the Autumn Lane Fire was especially active late Sunday and into Monday, and that “tens of thousands” of structures remained threatened. Monday night’s update showed the Autumn Lane Fire had become the largest of the three, at around 5,600 acres.

“Our priority right now is we have a firefight going on,” Clemo said earlier in the day at a press conference.

He said aerial imagery showed as many as 1,100 structures may have been destroyed. But he emphasized that this count was preliminary and there are “large question marks about the total loss.”

“The next week or so are going to be extremely difficult as we start to grasp the overwhelming amount of damage that has been done in this community,” said Clemo, whose team is now leading the fire response in the Spokane area.

More than 65,000 people were told to evacuate from areas in and around Spokane. Mayor Lisa Brown said “it could be weeks” before some people can return to their homes or property. “It’s neighborhood by neighborhood and block by block,” she said.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said his agency received around 290 calls concerning people the department wanted to locate as the fires and evacuation efforts unfolded. They were able to account for all but 14. He emphasized that the remaining 14 people were not necessarily missing and that the department is still trying to reach them.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service advised Western Washington to prepare for temperatures in the 80s to 90s and poor air quality in the days ahead, as smoke from wildfires is expected to drift into the region from eastern parts of the state and Canada. Statewide, at least 17 major fires are burning across 262,000 acres, Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said Monday. He said that 5,000 people are involved in fighting the blazes. About 900 are working the Spokane fires.

On Monday, the state’s entire congressional delegation — 10 Democrats and two Republicans — wrote to President Donald Trump, urging him to approve Gov. Bob Ferguson’s request for an expedited emergency declaration in response to fires burning in multiple counties.

Ferguson, a Democrat, praised the responsiveness so far of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Trump administration. He said state officials met with FEMA representatives Monday morning and that the federal agency was already moving additional resources into the state.

The initial FEMA assistance could include search and rescue, debris removal, medical supplies, temporary shelter and generators.

Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, adjutant general of the state’s National Guard, described seeing burned sections of the Spokane area that resemble a war zone. “Some of these folks may not recover,” he said.

“We are still in the fight,” he added. “There’s still a lot of danger.”