Challenging fire weather continues in West as thousands evacuated in Canada while Spokane crews gain ground

By Meteorologists Mary Gilbert, Chris Dolce and CNN’s Hanna Park

(CNN) — Fire danger continued in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada over the weekend, posing challenging conditions for crews battling to keep destructive blazes from spreading across the region with at least four fire-related deaths reported.

In British Columbia, Canada, fast-moving flames burning along Okanagan Lake forced more than 20,000 people to flee their homes with dozens of people rescued by aircraft.

In the US, firefighting crews are continuing to make progress containing a complex of three fires near Spokane, Washington, which burned more than 10,000 acres of land and destroyed hundreds of homes and structures since last week. The state has been grappling with multiple fires that have burned more than 500,000 acres.

Meanwhile, authorities have remained concerned about fires spilling across states, as the wind-driven Bug Fire burns thousands of acres north of Reno, near the California border, prompting evacuations.

Canada wildfires

A total of 105 wildfires were raging across British Columbia on Sunday, 51 of which were classified as “out of control,” the BC Wildfire Service said, warning that conditions remain “extremely dry” and pose a significant fire threat.

The Bald Range wildfire, first reported on Friday evening, was one of the “quickest-moving, largest fires in such a short time” as it swept along the Summerland and Okanagan-Similkameen districts, Erick Thompson, a regional emergency official, said.

The entire community of Summerland, home to about 12,000 people, was ordered evacuated, along with about 8,000 people in and around nearby Peachland. Officials had not determined how many homes were destroyed.

An 80-year-old woman died while trying to escape the flames, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Sunday, according to CNN affiliate CBC News. CNN has reached out to RCMP.

The province’s premier, David Eby, declared a state of emergency, describing the blaze to reporters “like a bomb going off.” Multiple firefighting aircraft rescued more than 50 people, according to British Columbia Forests Minister Ravi Parmar.

“There is no number of resources you can put on a fire to deal with the level of growth that we’ve seen over the last 48 hours,” Parmar told CNN Sunday evening.

Progress in Spokane

In Spokane, Washington, many evacuation levels have been downgraded, except areas in and around the fire’s path of devastation which remain under Level 3 evacuation orders due to ongoing operations and dangerous conditions, the Spokane County sheriff said Sunday.

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The blazes – the Autumn Lane, Old Trails and Fairview fires – are being fought by California Team Seven, whose deputy incident commander, Nic Elmquist, described the response on arrival as tackling “a very complex, moving, rapidly expanding fire.”

The sheriff added firefighters need to confirm any hot spots near homes have been extinguished and wait for the Environmental Protection Agency to assess properties for any hazardous materials before residents can begin returning home.

The fires, which have burned over the last week, have destroyed about 920 structures. Authorities have arrested and charged a Spokane resident with first-degree arson in one of the fires.

More than 40 large fires are burning in Washington and Oregon — more than half of the nationwide total, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. It’s already the worst fire season in more than 30 years for both states, one fueled by human-caused climate change. Smoke from these blazes is also tanking air quality in parts of the Northwest.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Friday announced a public health emergency declared by the US Department of Health and Human Services in response to the devastating wildfires in the state.

West wildfires

States south of Washington are also battling dozens of wildfires fueled by hot and dry conditions.

The wind-driven Bug Fire north of Reno, Nevada, had burned around 15,000 acres and was 3% contained as of late Sunday evening, according to CalFire. The blaze forced evacuations in the Cold Springs and Red Rock areas still in effect Sunday.

Crews from across the Tahoe basin joined the fight, with aircraft making drops through the night and a strike team dispatched to protect homes in the Red Rock area. “It’s been a very busy weekend for our firefighters,” Chief Lewis said, noting crews had battled two other fires the night before and worked through the night. “Our number one concern is life safety.”

Evacuation zones have expanded as the fire spreads. The main highway east of the Sierra Nevada stayed open, though officials closed one exit near the fire, according to the Washoe County Emergency Center.

In Reno, the Red Cross opened a shelter for evacuees and their animals. Those fleeing were urged to bring several days’ worth of essentials – medications, documents, phone chargers, food and water, a change of clothes – and to check the fire’s perimeter map for evacuation zones and road closures.

As the fight drags on, the toll on firefighters climbs. A dozer operator working on the Wrights Spring Fire in Oregon was fatally injured Thursday, and on Friday a helicopter on contract with the US Forest Service crashed while fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire in Utah, killing the pilot and one crew member, the National Interagency Fire Center announced.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, the fire center said.

Three firefighters in Washington have suffered burns, one seriously enough to be hospitalized twice and sent to a burn center. Elmquist added injuries tend to mount at this stage of a long fire, urging crews to “look out after each other.”

Fire weather forecast

Gusty winds along with very dry conditions, will maintain an elevated fire weather risk throughout much of the west, but the overall threat of fire spread will be less than Saturday’s.

Most areas of the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West had seen winds of 15 mph with gusts reaching 20 to 25 mph at times this past weekend.

Temperatures early this week will top out in the upper 80s to near 90 degrees, closer to normal summertime temperatures for the region and less intense than the fire crews had to contend with for much of the week.

Temperatures in Spokane, for example, are expected to reach 90 degrees on Sunday before returning to the 80s next week.

Smoke and air quality forecast

Stagnant smoke dropped air quality last week in the Pacific Northwest until winds Thursday and Friday cleared the worst of it from western locations, like Seattle and Portland, Oregon. But poor quality remains front and center for many east of the Cascades this weekend.

Smoke close to the surface — where it affects air quality the most — will also travel farther east on the same winds stoking the fire threat. Parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming will see their air quality degrade further this week.

Smoke higher in the atmosphere will also spread farther east into the Northern Plains and Midwest. This smoke is forecast to stay high enough that it is unlikely to cause a repeat of the widespread smoky conditions and poor air quality that affected many areas in the central and eastern US in July.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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Meteorologist Briana Waxman and CNN’s Rebekah Riess and Lauren Mascarenhas contributed to this report.