CNN
—
A wildfire in eastern Washington state has prompted two medical facilities to shelter in place and forced some residents to evacuate.
The fire, known as the Gray Fire, has already consumed 500 acres near Medical Lake, Washington, according to a social media post by Spokane County Fire District 10 on Friday.
Evacuation orders have been issued for residents in Medical Lake and the surrounding area, as reported by the county fire district.
The fire originated in the Lakeland Village neighborhood, southwest of Medical Lake, on Friday afternoon, according to the county fire district.
Authorities have deployed aircraft to combat the fire, as stated by the fire district.
Eastern State Hospital and Lakeland Village Residential Habilitation Center, both state-operated medical facilities nearby, are currently under a shelter-in-place directive, according to Norah West, assistant director of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, in an interview with CNN.
“This is an evolving situation and we are working to verify details on the ground,” added West.
No casualties have been reported, according to Sarah Jydstrup, spokesperson for Spokane County Fire District 10, in an interview with CNN.
Medical Lake is located approximately 15 miles southwest of Spokane.
As of August 18, there are currently over 90 active wildfires across 14 states in the United States, burning over half a million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
