Fast-moving wildfire razes parts of Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill homes burned as a fast-moving blaze raced through trees and into the Northwood neighborhood near Spokane Valley on Tuesday.

The wildfire torched over 250 acres with no containment as strong winds continued to push it east during the afternoon.

Spokane County Fire District 9 Chief Matthew Vinci said 11,750 residents were under evacuation and 2,340 primary and secondary structures threatened. He did not have an estimate for structures lost at a 6 p.m. news conference.

No injuries were reported, Vinci said.

Malek Chreiki stood in the grass at the Pasadena Park Church of the Nazarene, watching the smoke plume from above the trees.

"I live there," he said as he ran his hands through his hair, nearly in tears. "I literally live right there."

Crews clad in their yellow heat-resistant jackets dragged water hoses down the street, many of them covered in splotches of red from the fire retardant falling from the sky above them. Red-colored water spilled over into the storm drains. Helicopters dropped into the Spokane River to take water, then zoomed off into the trees.

Some homes that burned had no structure left besides the concrete foundation. Most of them were still spitting small flames.

The fire prompted a Level 3, or immediate, evacuation for residents living between Bigelow Gulch on the north side of the fire, Upriver Drive on the south, Northwood to the east and Argonne on the west. A "be set" warning was in place north of Bigelow Gulch to Uhlig Road and east of Argonne to North Pleasant Prairie Road.

Dozens of engines from crews including the Department of Natural Resources, the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, and Fire District 9 responded to the fire, focusing on structure protection. Other resources from North Idaho and Western Washington also showed up to help.

"We have a very robust mutual-aid system in the county and in the region," Vinci said.

Gov. Bob Ferguson said Tuesday on X that he also requested financial help from FEMA and anticipated the request to be approved that evening.

The Upriver fire was reported at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, DNR spokesperson Ryan Rodruck said. It was initially called in as a smoke investigation, but it "very rapidly was upgraded to a brushfire response," Spokane County Fire District 9 firefighter Robert Gray told reporters .

The blaze quickly grew from 1 acre to 10 acres between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., Rodruck said, and by 1:45 p.m., the fire had grown to 50 acres and was quickly spreading to the east. Mountain bikers riding the area's popular trails descended the hill and watched as smoke filled the skies. The smoke spread in a matter of seconds in the 30 mph winds, which spurred officials to immediately call in additional resources.

"Wind-driven fires are very, very dangerous and dangerous to work in; they move very rapidly," Vinci said. "They have a lot of fuel in that area. It's a very densely populated area, and it's tough conditions. They've been working really hard to make sure we save structures and we save lives."

He said Fire District 9 and other fire agencies in the region were prepared, given a regional red flag warning Tuesday in effect from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Winds were slated to be between 15 and 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Humidity in the area was to be between 12 and 23%, worsening fire danger with the dry air.

Vinci said over 300 people and more than 65 apparatus es were working the fire Tuesday evening.

DNR spokesman Eric Keller said about 10 aircraft worked to suppress the fire, including air tankers and helicopters. Those aircraft will continue to drop water and retardant on the fire Wednesday.

Additional state and federal resources were on their way, and firefighting efforts will last for several days, Vinci said.

"I can't thank enough the regional resources initially, all of our partners in Spokane County, all of our fire districts that have supported us very early on into the incident and continuing to work hard to protect structures, protect families and make sure that we get this fire into a better state at this point," Vinci said.

He also credited local law enforcement agencies that helped move a "large amount of citizens" out of the danger zone.

"It was an urgent need for evacuations," Vinci said. "Sheriffs and other law enforcement supported that effort, and we know they helped saved lives in doing that."

Chreiki was at work when he heard there was a fire near his house. He told his boss, "I need to head straight home."

He packed some clothes, but didn't think the fire would be this bad, he said. He realized the extent of the blaze when he watched numerous trees and bushes go up in flames in the neighborhood nearby. He pointed to a map of the neighborhood, then pointed to a tree at the end of a cul-de-sac.

"This tree right here caught fire, and then it just jumped from this house to this house. Then from there, (the view) was all obstructed," he said. "I started driving away. The helicopters finally came in, but it (felt) just not fast enough."

If Chreiki's home burns, "it's over," he said.

"We don't have insurance," Chreiki said. "We don't have a way to recover from this."

Trees at the peak of the Camp Sekani Conservation Area were completely razed when a Spokesman-Review reporter was on scene at 1:30 p.m.

Jenny Tate-Leard stood outside her family's home in a Level 3 evacuation zone Tuesday at around 2:20 p.m., many of her neighbors doing the same. They watched as thick smoke settled to the northwest.

"I've lived here for 27 years. This has been a thing every summer," she said of the fires burning in the Beacon Hill area.

This year, however, has been the worst she remembers. Like her neighbors, Tate-Leard had the sprinklers in her yard going to water their homes and surrounding property.

"It's never gotten where it's this close."

Chuck Horwath has lived in the area since the 1970s, when he bought his house from his parents. While evacuating, he said a fire came similarly close to his property a few years ago, leading him to frequently thin trees in a bid to protect his home.

While Horwath was ready to evacuate, his wife said they "won't go until we have to." Tate-Leard echoed the sentiment, saying her family wouldn't go until they saw embers dropping into their neighborhood.

At 2 p.m., the fire began encroaching into the Northwood subdivision.

At the corner of Columbia Drive and Emerald Lane, firefighters were able to stop the flames just short of reaching a home's decking.

Darian Havens, the owner and director of the Flora and Fauna Learning Center located at the corner of East Columbia Drive and Argonne, said she saw the smoke from the outdoor play yard at around 12:20 p.m. and issued a message to clients in the area to come pick up their children right away.

Havens said the 25 kids on -site had safely evacuated to the Argonne Library by 1:15 p.m. People were leaving their cars along Argonne, she said.

West Valley School District Superintendent Kyle Rydell was helping coordinate student transportation at Pasadena Park Elementary School on Upriver Drive.

He said many students from the elementary school, Centennial Middle School and West Valley City School (middle school) live in Northwood, where residents evacuated. The district suspended afternoon bus service for students living north of Upriver Drive where the fire was burning and asked parents to pick their students up at Pasadena Park Elementary or their schools.

In some instances, grandparents and other loved ones had to pick students up while parents gathered important belongings from their home and evacuated, Rydell said.

Rydell credited staff for its response on the second-to-last day of school.

"Staff jumped in, just everybody coming here helping out; it's been great," he said.

Just east of Argonne, employees at Bright Side Electrical Services evacuated to downtown Spokane about 2:15 p.m. after seeing the smoke and reports of growing amounts of acreage being burned, owner Mark Johnson said.

The American Red Cross released Tuesday afternoon that it would host an emergency shelter for evacuees at the Spokane Valley United Methodist Church, located at 115 North Raymond Road in Spokane Valley.

Food and cots will be available. Red Cross recommends that, when possible, residents should evacuate with their medications, hygiene supplies, important documents, clothes, pillows and blankets.

The conditions prompted Avista to de-energize power lines Tuesday afternoon in parts of the Indian Trail neighborhood in northwest Spokane. Parts of North Indian Trail Road, Rural Route 5, North 5 Mile Road and North Mill Road will experience outages.

About 1,800 customers were affected at 1 p.m. The lines won't be delivering electricity again until the fire risk is over, and Avista estimates the power could remain off for 48 hours if damages occur. The company recommends households using generators to do a safety check before turning it on, and people who rely on power for medical support should contact the company for support.

Avista announced that a resource center for those without power in Indian Trail would be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Skyline Elementary School, located at 9911 North Bob Olsen Lane in Spokane.

The cause of the fire and its origin are under investigation. Vinci said officials won't know the cause for "a while."

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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 7:14 PM.