Smells of spices filled the cozy kitchen of Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Cuisine on Sunday as owners prepared free meals for people evacuated from the devastating Old Trails and other fires in the Spokane area.
The Old Trails wildfire in northwest Spokane destroyed 640 structures Saturday and overnight into Sunday, and officials are "still assessing the potential for lives to be lost."
Under the area’s first-ever “particularly dangerous ” weather warning Saturday, winds peaked at 44 mph, driving three separate blazes that sparked in and around Spokane.
As thousands of people in Spokane already were scrambling to evacuate after a historic wildfire broke out on the West Plains and jumped the Spokane River on Saturday, two other major blazes also forced residents from their homes and complicated firefighting efforts.
The warning is in effect across Eastern Washington, from the Spokane, the Waterville Plateau, Okanogan Valley, Western Columbia Basin, Colville Reservation, the Palouse and Snake River areas.
