World NewsEastern Washington fires have burned 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 5,000 homesOver 600 structures burnedPhoto: The Associated Press Old Trails Fire burns near Dwight Merkel Sports Complex, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)About 5,000 homes have been evacuated and about 600 homes, businesses and other buildings have been destroyed by wildfires that remained uncontained Sunday in eastern Washington state, authorities said. No deaths have yet been reported from the fires in the Spokane area. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Saturday, and the National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag alert for eastern Washington. “They push the fire through the canyons, up, up the slopes, and then outside the slopes and around,” he said. “It’s very, very hilly, very, very steep slopes, a lot of canyons that create really turbulent, really challenging sort of wind scenarios.”