©Spokane Fire District 9

Three major wildfires continued burning around Washington state’s second-largest city on Aug. 6, entering their sixth day after destroying hundreds of homes and other structures and forcing tens of thousands of evacuations. Fire crews from across Washington remained focused on … the Spokane Complex fires. Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place in parts of the region as firefighters worked to strengthen containment lines. More than 100 Washington National Guard members have been deployed to assist with the response, while over 1,400 firefighting personnel have been assigned to battle the blazes, officials said. The Autumn Lane Fire remained the most active of the three wildfires as of Aug. 5, though the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said crews had “successfully held the fire within its established footprint” while reinforcing containment lines. An estimated 600 to 1,100 structures have been damaged or destroyed, and as many as 1,824 structures are threatened, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 60,000 people have been evacuated.