At least two people died and thousands of residents evacuated as two fires continue to burn uncontrolled in eastern Washington State, authorities said.
Since Friday, two separate fires — the Gray Fire and the Oregon Road Fire — have burned more than 20,000 acres combined, and destroyed hundreds of properties,according to ABC Newsand theWashington State Department of Natural Resources.
“Unfortunately yes, we now have two confirmed fatalities, one reported Saturday on the Gray Fire in Medical Lake, and one yesterday on the Oregon Road Fire near Elk,” Joe Smillie, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, tells PEOPLE via email.
“It’s unclear if this second death was from the fire or if the deceased died beforehand of other causes,” Smillie adds. “The Spokane County coroner is investigating and will release that information and identities.”
Officials had closed parts of Interstate 90, according to the Washington State DNR.
“We are fighting an uncontrollable problem, which is that climate change is changing the nature of our forests and our grasslands,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told ABC News.
Wildfires burn in Washington State.Spokane Valley Fire Department/Twitter
Spokane Valley Fire Department/Twitter
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“We’ve seen reports of citizens bragging that they’re able to get beyond scene and security lines to come in and check on their loved ones or their animals or the status of their homes. I ask, please don’t do that,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said during the briefing, via ABC News. “We will let people know when it’s safe to come back into their homes.”
Spokane Countydeclared a state of emergencyon Saturday, and power outages were reported in parts of Medical Lake.
As a result of the raging wildfires, the air quality in other parts of the state has been affected.
Wildfires burn in Washington State.Spokane Fire Dist.10/Twitter
Spokane Fire Dist.10/Twitter
By early Monday morning in Seattle,iqair.comhad ranked the city’s air quality as the sixth-worst in the world.
source: people.com
