Pacific Northwest Cranks Up Nature’s Barbecue to ‘99 Fire’ Setting
KEY POINTS
- •Washington announced 17 large active fires and a statewide emergency on Saturday due to drought, heat, and wind.
- •Sixty thousand Spokane area residents evacuated as three major fires destroyed 640 structures and caused power outages.
- •Oregon leads the U.S. with 32 large fires, prompting new evacuation orders and setting a modern record for acreage burned.
The Pacific Northwest is auditioning for a BBQ festival nobody wanted: Washington anchors with 17 massive fires, including the Spokane Complex Fire, which evicted 60,000 residents, blacked out thousands, and tossed 640 structures into the ash pan. Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency Saturday, blaming drought, heat, and high winds for the fire fiesta. Oregon topped the charts with 32 blazes, fresh hellfires sparking new evacuations faster than you can say 'Red Flag Warning.' Combined U.S. fires this year have scorched 5.2 million acres—more area than some small countries—turning summer into a smoke season remix. Idaho, Montana, and a couple dozen states are all trying their own ‘one fire each’ strategy too, apparently. Climate change gets the reluctant guest-star role as the arsonist’s assistant, making the infernos fiercer and firefighters’ jobs a nightmare.
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(1 of 3)America’s summer playlist this year: 99 wildfires hitting every corner like a bad sequel you didn’t ask for. Congratulations, nature’s officially got anger management issues.
If you wanted to visit every ‘active large fire’ in the U.S., you’d need a yellow hazmat suit and a very chill therapist.
Oregon’s got 32 wildfires, Washington 17, and the rest of the country throwing in a modest handful. Plot twist: we’re all roasting marshmallows over climate change’s campfire.
Source: Axios | Published: 8/3/2026 | Author: Rebecca Falconer
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