More than 600 structures lost as tens of thousands evacuate in Washington state wildfires

Wildfires that began in the Spokane, Washington, region over the weekend had not been contained Monday. But cooler temperatures and favorable weather are expected to soon help firefighters “make significant gains,” officials said at a news conference Monday afternoon. The fires, which began Saturday, have forced the evacuations of roughly 65,000 people in the Spokane area, officials said Monday. The three blazes, collectively called the Spokane Complex Fire, have burned 8,026 acres and are 0% contained, according to a federal incident management team coordinating the response. No injuries have been reported in any of the fires, though authorities have been checking for people reported missing. Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said Monday that crews had cleared more than 200 missing person reports and have about a dozen left to go.