Overview
- A fast-moving wildfire that began near Beacon Hill and Upriver Drive grew rapidly on Tuesday from a small brush fire into a wind-driven blaze that raced into nearby neighborhoods.
- The fire has burned on the order of a few hundred acres and prompted mandatory Level 3 evacuations affecting roughly 11,000–12,000 residents and more than 2,000 primary and secondary structures.
- Officials reported about 10% containment by Wednesday morning, while damage assessments found at least 15 homes destroyed and one person reported missing with no confirmed injuries so far.
- Dozens of aircraft, hand crews, bulldozers and strike teams from local, state and regional agencies were deployed and FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to offset extraordinary suppression costs.
- Public-safety measures include targeted de-energization by Avista, sheltering by the Red Cross, escorted returns for critical medications and an expectation that firefighting and damage assessments will take several more days.