©Spokane Valley Fire Dept

Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said Sunday. The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles (about 21 square kilometers) over the weekend and were among dozens of wildfires across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. A total of about 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained. Fire and law enforcement officials said there had been no reports of injuries or people unaccounted for — but they stressed it was early in the response effort. …Investigators had yet to determine how the blazes started. …Officials called the fire “catastrophic” as heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines overnight.