Wildfires in Washington state force thousands to evacuate

Wildfires in eastern Washington state have forced about 5,000 homes to evacuate, while roughly 600 homes, businesses and other buildings have been destroyed, according to authorities. The fires were still uncontained on Sunday and had burned more than 21 square kilometres near Spokane. The blazes are part of a wider wave of fires across the western United States, which has stretched firefighting resources. No deaths have been reported in the Spokane area so far. In nearby western Idaho and eastern Oregon, crews continued to battle a larger fire that has burned about 1,360 square kilometres and threatened hundreds of homes and other structures. Officials said dry, sunny weather and strong winds were expected to make conditions more difficult, with temperatures set to rise later in the week. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency, and the National Weather Service issued red flag and air quality warnings across several western states.