UPDATED AT 4:45 PM:
Washington state firefighters are on their way to Spokane to help local teams that are battling a 300-acre wildfire on Beacon Hill in northeast Spokane.
The fire that started around noon near the 6400 block of Upriver Drive quickly spread. High winds pushed the flames north and east. They’re threatening several hundred homes.
Local authorities created an evacuation area that has since been expanded. A level 3 – or go now -- evacuation area is bounded by Bigelow Gulch Road on the north, Thierman on the west, Argonne on the east and Upriver Drive on the south.
An additional level 2 – or be ready to go – evacuation area is in place to the north and east of that. It’s bounded by Uhlig Road on the north, Bigelow Gulch and Wellesley on the south, Espe on the west and Lehman/Pleasant Prairie on the east.
Planes are dropping water and retardant on the fire. More air resources from the state are on their way, along with six small wildfire strike teams.
The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center at the Spokane Valley United Methodist Church at 115 North Raymond Road.
Other fires are also burning in the Spokane area. One is burning in the trees near the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in northwest Spokane.
Crews made good progress on a two-acre fire burning near Medical Lake, between I-90 and Highway 2. Level 3 evacuations were ordered for awhile, but those have been rescinded.
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Pockets of Spokane’s Indian Trail neighborhood are without power this afternoon. Avista shut down electric service in areas where the risk of wildfire is considered to be high. The utility says about 18-hundred customers are affected. Avista has opened a customer resource center at Skyline Elementary School, where people can plug in their phones and other electronic devices and get light refreshment. It’s unknown how long that outage will last.
