About 60,000 people ordered to evacuate as wildfires threaten U.S. Spokane area

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- About 60,000 people have been ordered to evacuate by Sunday as three fast-moving wildfires threatened Spokane and nearby communities in the northwestern U.S. state of Washington, local officials said.

Officials estimated that at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures had been destroyed. No deaths or injuries had been reported, and no one was known to be unaccounted for as of Sunday afternoon.

The three major blazes were identified as the Old Trails Fire, the Fairview Fire and the Autumn Lane Fire. They had burned a combined 5,390 acres (22 square km) by Sunday and remained uncontained, according to a federal incident management team.

Large areas of Spokane and Spokane County were placed under Level 3 evacuation orders, requiring residents to leave immediately.

An emergency shelter was opened at the Spokane Convention Center. The fires also prompted the evacuation of patients from the Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and disrupted operations at several public facilities and utility services.

The fires spread rapidly on Saturday amid strong winds, high temperatures and extremely dry vegetation. Power outages were reported across parts of the Spokane area.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency, mobilized National Guard personnel and imposed restrictions on outdoor burning. He said Sunday that the state had also requested federal emergency assistance.

State officials said more than 250,000 acres (1,010 square km) were burning across Washington as about 4,000 firefighters battled more than a dozen major wildfires.