Why the Spokane wildfires became so catastrophic

Three wildfires tore through Spokane, Washington, over the weekend, destroying at least six hundred homes and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate, including patients at a VA medical center, The Conversation reports. Forecasters had issued a rare 'particularly dangerous situation' warning the day before -- the first ever for Washington state -- as a historic snow drought left forests dry weeks early and a cold front brought winds gusting up to forty-five miles per hour. The fires spread fast because they burned through the wildland-urban interface, where homes are built right into forest and grassland, letting flame jump from vegetation to structure to structure. By Monday the fires had burned more than eight thousand acres and were still active, part of a year in which over forty-four thousand wildfires have already scorched more than five million acres across the U.S.

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