Raging Northwest Fires Kill 3, Burn Homes

Wind-driven fires raged Wednesday in Spokane suburbs and northern Idaho, killing three people and destroying dozens of homes, authorities said.

Dry conditions and strong winds also fed forest and grass fires that burned thousands of acres in Oregon and Montana.

Firefighters were battling more than 20 fires on about 30,000 acres ringing Spokane. Between 50 and 75 homes had been destroyed by mid-evening and most of the larger fires were out of control, state Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Pam Adams said.

The bodies of three people were recovered from burned homes in a rural area north of Spokane, said Charlene Browning, an administrator in Spokane County Fire District No. 9. She had no other details.

Residents of several suburbs around Spokane were evacuated as firefighters tried to save other homes from the rapidly advancing flames.

Two homes were destroyed by fire near Hauser Lake, in northern Idaho, the Kootenai County sheriff’s department said. Emergency shelters were set up at Post Falls, Ida. County officials urged residents around Hauser Lake to evacuate their homes.

High wind and blowing dust grounded aerial tankers and helicopters that might have helped by dropping chemical retardants and water on the more than 40 blazes in eastern Washington. Firefighters were often unable to pump water because of scattered power outages. Thousands of homes in eastern Washington remained without power.