Urban firestorm devastates Spokane as dense smoke envelops the Northwest » Yale Climate Connections

by Jeff Masters, Yale Climate Connections
August 3, 2026

The most destructive wildfire in Washington state history roared into Spokane on Saturday, August 1, creating a horrific urban firestorm that leapt from building to building, destroying at least 700 structures and forcing nearly 65,000 people to evacuate. The fire was driven by strong winds during the passage of a dry cold front, as Spokane’s airport recorded sustained winds of 33 mph, gusting to 44 mph (71 km/h) Saturday afternoon. The strong winds were accompanied by 86-degree heat and very dry air with a relative humidity of 20-25%. Fire spread was aided by severe-to-extreme drought conditions, which were caused by a record-low winter snowpack that was followed by a hot and dry summer. At Spokane International Airport, only a trace of precipitation was recorded during the entire month of July, and temperatures averaged 2.7°F above average.

Before the fires hit, the extreme fire risk had forced the National Weather Service in Spokane to issue its first-ever “Particularly Dangerous Situation” Red Flag Warning, a rare designation reserved for the most extreme fire weather conditions. No deaths have been reported yet, but given the chaotic nature of the firestorm, deaths may have occurred.

The havoc in Spokane on Saturday was caused by three separate wildfires. The worst fire was the 3,600-acre Old Trails Fire, which burned into the northwest part of the city. According to the Hotshot Wake Up, the fire’s spread was aided by burning embers that were hurled over ½ mile in advance of the flame front, landing on roofs and in gutters filled with pine needles that then ignited. The three wildfires had burned almost 10,000 acres by Monday afternoon; all three are currently 0% contained.

Spokane’s previous most destructive fire was in October 1991, when a 35,000-acre fire destroyed 114 structures and killed two.

Urban firestorms on the rise in the U.S.

An urban firestorm occurs when a massive, high-intensity fire moves into a built environment, causing structures — rather than just vegetation — to become the primary fuel source. The Spokane firestorm is just the latest example of one of these most dangerous and destructive wildfires that have hit the U.S. in the past 10 years:

Six of the top-10 costliest wildfire disasters in world history have occurred since 2017 (Fig. 1). This surge has been driven by a combination of expanding residential development in high-risk wildland-urban interface (WUI) zones, accumulated natural fuels, and climate change. As the climate warms, fire danger increases, mostly because the atmosphere gets “thirstier” – more water vapor can evaporate into warmer air. This results in more water vapor evaporating from plants, which dries them out and creates an increased risk of large and intense fires that can generate huge smoke plumes.

Read more: Fireproofing your home can reduce insurance bills

A dangerous wildfire smoke event spreading

As climate change bakes forests across the U.S. this summer of 2026, dense smoke from 102 large uncontained wildfires is now blanketing tens of millions of people with hazardous pollution. Dozens of additional out-of-control wildfires are burning throughout Canada. Pollution from small particles called PM2.5 — the fine particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter are the primary air pollution killers — was in the red “Unhealthy” range across five states and three Canadian provinces averaged over 24 hours in the Northwest on Sunday, and these unhealthy conditions will expand into some of the region’s largest population centers on Tuesday through Thursday, as a ridge of high pressure brings winds out of the northeast. These winds will push the wildfire smoke concentrated in eastern Washington and Oregon toward the coast, affecting more heavily populated areas.

The 8 a.m. EDT forecast from NOAA’s flagship smoke model, HRRR-Smoke (Fig. 2), calls for wildfire smoke to bring the Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 into the red “Unhealthy” or orange “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range for most of Oregon by Monday night, including Portland, persisting into Tuesday. An air quality advisory has been issued for Portland. Because of the complex terrain and ocean influences affecting the air flow around Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria, it is uncertain how bad the air might get in those cities, but the potential exists for extended periods of red “Unhealthy” conditions. Smoke problems will intermittently plague all of these cities through Thursday, then improve considerably on Friday, when the usual westerly onshore winds resume.

Because of the huge number of people affected, and since this is occurring at the same time as a heat wave, this widespread pollution event will likely lead to hundreds of premature deaths. To illustrate the danger, a 2025 study blamed the summer of 2023 wildfires in Canada for 33,000 premature deaths in the United States, 8,300 in Canada, and 23,000 in Europe. According to the EPA, a premature air pollution death is one that occurs on average 14 years before a person would have otherwise died.

Unprecedented wildfires in Europe

Multiple nations in Europe have also been battling unprecedented wildfires and unhealthy levels of smoke in recent weeks. At least eight firefighters have died since July 21 fighting the blazes: five in Greece, two in France, and one in Spain. As documented in The Guardian, “More of France has already burned than in any previous full year on record. More than 300,000 people across France and Spain were forced to flee homes and tourist accommodation within a week, and some are returning to burned-out homes and destroyed belongings.”

Related

Dangerous and historic wildfire smoke pollution event engulfs the U.S. and Canada (July 17)
15 sources of wildfire smoke forecasts for North America (2025)
Silent calamity: The health impacts of wildfire smoke
How to protect yourself from wildfire smoke
Climate change made deadly Los Angeles wildfires 35% more likely: new attribution study (2025)

Bob Henson contributed to this post.

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