Fire danger continues in the Pacific Northwest Saturday as flame-fueling winds reached their strongest point in days on Friday, challenging fire crews battling to keep destructive blazes from spreading in Spokane,

Spokane wildfires have forced evacuations and a statewide emergency has been declared in Washington.

A man charged with starting one of the wildfires in Spokane, Washington, that have destroyed hundreds of buildings planned the crime for weeks and researched when the weather would be best for igniting it, police said.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown called the wildfires burning through the area the "worst natural disaster our region has faced."

A wildfire in Whitman County started Saturday afternoon, prompting a Level 3 (“Go Now!”) evacuation order for residents in Malden — a valley town that burned in the 2020 Babb Road fire that destroyed 80% of its homes.

A man charged with starting one of the wildfires in Spokane, Washington, that have destroyed hundreds of buildings planned the crime for weeks and researched when the weather would be best for igniting it,

Firefighters made gains in containing the Spokane Complex wildfires, but weather conditions could lead to more spread as the week goes on.

Farinacci is accused of starting the Old Trails Fire, one of three infernos ripping through Washington’s Spokane area.