One dead, dozens of buildings destroyed in Washington state

A wildfire in eastern Washington state has left one person dead and destroyed dozens of structures as authorities have raced to contain blazes across the state and in the nearby Canadian province of British Columbia.

The Gray fire began in Washington around noon Friday, prompting evacuations, and had burned through 9,500 acres by Saturday morning, threatening the communities of Medical Lake and Four Lakes. The areas, less than 20 miles southwest of Spokane, have a combined population of more than 5,000.

One person has died and 185 structures have been destroyed by the fire, which was zero percent contained as of Saturday morning, according to Joe Smillie, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

A red-flag warning, meaning that critical fire conditions were occurring or soon would occur, was also in effect for eastern Washington and northern Idaho through Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

“All Medical Lake citizens, get out now,” Mayor Terri Cooper of Medical Lake said in a Facebook post Friday. The city later warned residents that residents boil local water before drinking as a safety precaution.

Smillie added that the fire was being fueled by dry grass and wheat fields.

The fire was spreading farther south, Smillie said, closer to Cheney, a city of about 13,000 that is home to Eastern Washington University. He added firefighters were trying to reroute the fire and stop its spread.

Another fire in Washington, the Oregon Road fire, has threatened the community of Elk, roughly 30 miles north of Spokane.