Eastern Washington fires destroy 600 structures and force 60,000 to evacuate

Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said on Sunday.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second largest city, burned about 8.2 sq miles (about 21 sq km), but they were among dozens across the western US that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.

A total of about 390 sq miles have burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.

Officials also said that the evacuees in Spokane included patients at its US Veterans Affairs hospital.

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