At least 600 structures damaged in Washington state wildfires

Wildfires burning in the Spokane, Washington, region continued burning Sunday, destroying more than 600 structures and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

The three blazes, which collectively are being called the Spokane Complex Fire, have burned 5,390 acres and are 0% contained, according to a federal incident management team that is coordinating the response.

No injuries have been reported for any of the fires.

The fires are “really the worst natural disaster our region has faced,” Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

The Spokane Complex Fire includes the Old Trails Fire, which has burned 3,509 acres; the Fairview Fire, which stands at 981 acres burned; and the Autumn Lane Fire, which has consumed 900 acres, according to federal incident management.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, said the fires were caused by “a historic weather event,” as the National Weather Service called for elevated fire weather Sunday, including north-northwest winds up to 35 mph and dry conditions that will quickly fuel flames.

The Spokane Complex Fire is “the top fire in the nation,” Cantwell said.

Officials said 60,000 people within Spokane city limits have been evacuated. Spokane County Fire District 3 Fire Chief Cody Rohrbach said 640 structures were destroyed in the Old Trails wildfire alone.

Authorities have not yet determined how many of the structures damaged or destroyed are homes, businesses or schools.

Gov. Bob Ferguson said he spoke to President Donald Trump on the phone. “He expressed his support for what the people are going through,” Ferguson said during Sunday’s news conference.

The governor on Saturday declared a statewide emergency that prohibits most outdoor and agricultural burning. Ferguson said a request for immediate Federal Emergency Management Agency support has been made, and another request for recovery funds was underway.

Fifteen wildfires were burning across the state, consuming some 250,000 acres, Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said at Sunday’s news conference.

Federal Interagency Incident Management Teams assumed command of the Spokane Complex Fire after federal deployment began on Friday. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, is coordinating two of the national crews — California-based incident management teams 4 and 7.

“This deployment marks a historic milestone — the first time a CAL FIRE Incident Management Team has been activated to the State of Washington,” the department said in a statement Friday.

The fight against major fires across the nation is often coordinated by the National Interagency Coordination Center and staffed by personnel from a combination of federal, tribal, state, local and territorial agencies.

Brown said there were first responders in her city who have been working as many as 30 hours straight. “We are so grateful for you,” she said.

Nearly 12,000 utility customers in Washington, a vast majority in Spokane, were without power Sunday, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.

Evacuations in Spokane County remained in effect, and a new mandatory evacuation was issued for parts of Stevens County near the Spokane River on Sunday afternoon.

Corey Hobson, a resident of the North Indian Trail neighborhood of Spokane, posted a video to Facebook on Saturday, showing charred trees and blackened ground.

“Not every house was destroyed, but a lot of them were,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’ve lived in Spokane my whole life and I’m 55 years old.”

Several social media posts verified by NBC News showed a local sports complex with smoke looming in the background before it became engulfed in flames on Saturday.

In another clip, people competed with harsh winds to set up a tent encampment on a soccer field and children entertained themselves on a nearby jungle gym.

A woman whose Indian Trail home of more than 21 years was a smoking pile of rubble told KHQ that her family is safe but that children’s mementos were lost.

“Everything from their upbringing is gone,” said the resident, who gave her name as Angela.

In the same cul-de-sac, at least six houses were razed in the fires while others appeared to stand unscathed, including the house next to Angela’s.

Around the area, evacuated residents marveled at the scale of destruction.

In a video posted to Facebook, a motorist canvassed the streets of Indian Trial as fires consumed properties and cars on both sides of the road. The driver, Travis Campbell, told NBC News that he shot the footage around 8 p.m. on Saturday.

“I drove over to that area to see what was going on and couldn’t believe my eyes,” Campbell said.

Temperatures were 10 degrees cooler than normal on Sunday, though dry conditions and winds are expected to remain. Temperatures are also forecast to rise again during the work week.

“We will get through this, Brown said Sunday.