{"id":15845,"date":"2026-06-17T22:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15845"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:02:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:02:06","slug":"eastern-washington-wildfire-forces-evacuations-and-destroys-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=15845","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Washington wildfire forces evacuations and destroys homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MARTHA BELLISLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

High winds drove a wildfire into an eastern Washington neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of about 1,500 people and destroying at least 15 homes, officials said Wednesday.<\/p>

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One person was reported missing by a family member but officials were unable to go into the fire zone to search for them because the conditions remained dangerous Wednesday afternoon, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said during a press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a location to look but it\u2019s not safe to look there at the moment,\u201d Nowels said.<\/p>\n

Many people living in the densely populated neighborhoods had to flee on a moment\u2019s notice \u2014 sometimes after an officer knocked on their door \u2014 leaving behind belongings and in some cases, critical medications, Nowels said. People were being escorted Wednesday by an officer to their homes one-by-one to access those essential needs, but then they were taken back out, Nowels said.<\/p>\n

The evacuation order for the 1,500 residents remained in effect Wednesday, said Chandra Fox, deputy director for Spokane County Emergency Management.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur concern is for increased winds Wednesday afternoon,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n

Nowels said 15 homes had been lost in the fire but there had been no injuries or deaths reported.<\/p>

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The blaze started just after noon on Tuesday and quickly moved up a hill, said fire district spokesman Robert Gray. Winds then shifted, sending flames into a neighborhood, Gray said. Spokane is about 280 miles east of Seattle near the border with Idaho.<\/p>\n

John Leavell, battalion chief with the Spokane Valley Fire Department, was one of the first people to spot the fire. He said he was driving near Interstate 90 when he saw a column of smoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I approached it, I thought this is going to be a big event \u2014 this is going fast,\u201d he said. \u201cIt looked like waves of fire going up the hill.\u201d<\/p>

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He pulled into a driveway and found a house fully engulfed in flames, so he contacted surrounding agencies and the local fire district took over while his crew started building fire lines, he said. Leavell said he didn\u2019t know if they fire began at the house or quickly consumed it. The cause is still under investigation.<\/p>

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