The wildfires burning around Spokane, Washington are a reminder that small blazes can cause immense destruction.
The Autumn Lane, Fairview and Old Trails fires — together known as the Spokane Complex Fire — have burned only a small fraction of the acres scorched by other ongoing fires in Washington state. But they are collectively one of the state’s most destructive disasters on record, damaging or destroying at least 900 structures in a matter of days and prompting more than 60,000 evacuations.
Compare that to the two largest blazes currently burning in the state: the Kaiser Canyon Fire and the Sinlahekin Fire. Each have burned more than 100,000 acres, but have damaged or destroyed only a few dozen structures.
The difference is location: the Spokane Complex Fire is near a city, while the Kaiser Canyon and Sinlahekin fires are in rural Washington.
