Upriver Fire burns 222 acres in Spokane, forces evacuations

Wind-whipped flames in Spokane’s Beacon Hill and Northwood areas burned 222.66 acres by Wednesday morning, with the Upriver Fire only 10% contained as crews worked under hot, dry conditions and gusty winds. Level 2 and Level 3 evacuations remained in place across the Spokane area, and air support was dropping retardant as firefighters tried to hold the line around homes and infrastructure.

The fire was first reported Tuesday, June 16, and quickly pushed through the eastern edge of Spokane, where more than 11,000 people were under evacuation orders at one point. About 1,500 people were evacuated from the immediate area as the fire spread east of the city, centered in the Beacon Hill and Northwood neighborhoods. The Northwest Washington Interagency Incident Management Team 2 took command of the fire response.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said 15 homes were lost, and a family member had filed a missing-person report. Law enforcement had not yet been able to search the area because conditions remained too dangerous. Spokane County Fire District 9 Chief Matthew Vinci said crews were still evaluating the full extent of the damage and had not allowed anyone back into the immediate evacuation zone.

Gov. Bob Ferguson requested a FEMA Fire Management Assistance Declaration to help secure federal firefighting funds as the response expanded. The request came as local and state crews, including the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, continued to battle the blaze in rough terrain and volatile weather. Officials said the combination of heat, low humidity and strong wind helped drive the fire’s rapid spread.

The Upriver Fire added to a stretch of wildfire activity across eastern Washington and North Idaho, where multiple fires have strained firefighting resources across the Inland Northwest. For Spokane-area residents, the immediate focus remained on evacuation, property loss and whether crews could keep the fire from pushing farther into neighborhoods already hit hard by the first fast-moving days of summer fire season.