Spokane firefighters contain wildfires while tens of thousands stay displaced

Firefighters in Spokane have used recent cooler conditions to build containment lines around three separate wildfires, focusing now on strengthening those barriers. The fires have razed approximately 850 buildings and forced the evacuation of around 67,000 people. Authorities say one blaze was deliberately set by a man who has been arrested and charged with arson; the other two, the Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, are also believed to be human-started but are still being investigated.

Some residents have been permitted to go home, while many remain in a convention-center shelter, hotels, rental homes or with friends and family, with no firm date for when they can return. No fatalities have been reported, though damage assessments are ongoing. The incidents add to a broader fire season that has stretched resources across the western United States.