SPOKANE, Washington — Wildfires burning across the western United States continued to threaten communities on Monday, prompting evacuations and keeping thousands of residents away from their homes as firefighters worked to contain blazes amid dry conditions and high fire danger.
More than 40 large wildfires were burning across the West, according to CBS News, with significant activity reported in Washington, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Idaho. Severe drought and dry weather have contributed to conditions favorable for fire growth.
In eastern Washington, fires around Spokane had damaged or destroyed about 920 structures by Sunday, according to the team managing the incidents. Some evacuation restrictions were eased, but authorities said residents in the hardest-hit areas remained unable to return while crews checked for hot spots and continued cleanup.
Residents of Malden, about 35 miles (55 km) south of Spokane, were urged to evacuate immediately on Saturday as fire threatened the community. By Sunday, officials had reduced the evacuation level to a warning, allowing residents to remain prepared to leave quickly if conditions worsened.
The Spokane-area fires followed a week of severe wildfire activity in Washington. Earlier reports said about 60,000 people had been forced to evacuate in the region and at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures had been destroyed or damaged. Officials said the fires had burned about 32 square kilometers by Aug. 3 and remained largely uncontained at that point.
Elsewhere, the Bug Fire near Reno, Nevada, had burned more than 15,000 acres and forced thousands of residents to evacuate, CBS reported. In Utah, the Widemouth 2 Fire had grown beyond 100,000 acres, while two helicopter pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed while fighting the blaze, according to officials.
Large grassland fires also continued in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. A fire there had burned nearly 525 square miles (about 1,360 square km) and threatened more than 600 homes and 800 other structures, according to fire officials. Authorities attributed that fire to lightning.
The National Weather Service has issued fire-weather warnings in parts of Utah, Montana and western Nebraska, while extreme heat warnings have covered parts of Arizona, California and Nevada. Officials continue to monitor conditions as firefighters work to strengthen containment lines and protect communities.
