Wind-driven wildfires in eastern Washington have forced mass evacuations around Spokane, destroyed at least six hundred structures and placed a state already strained by a severe fire season under emergency measures.

The Old Trails, Fairview and Meadowview fires have advanced through dry grass, brush and residential edges as high temperatures, low humidity and powerful gusts made containment difficult.

The largest immediate threat is in and around Spokane, Washington’s second-largest city.

The Old Trails Fire began on Saturday near Old Trails Road and Euclid Avenue, crossed the Spokane River and spread towards neighbourhoods including Indian Trail and Five Mile Prairie.

Officials have issued Level Three, or "Go Now," evacuation orders in parts of the area.

What is confirmed is that about sixty thousand people have been ordered to leave areas affected by the Spokane fires.

A shelter has been established at the Spokane Convention Center, while major facilities, including a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, water-reclamation sites and a waste-to-energy plant, were evacuated or placed under emergency precautions.

Power shut-offs and fire damage have disrupted electricity supplies.

The regional utility Avista initially cut service in vulnerable areas as a public-safety measure, and roughly ten thousand customers remained without power in the latest emergency update.

Across Washington, more than a dozen significant fires have burned more than a quarter of a million acres.

The Kaiser Canyon Fire in the northeast is the largest, at about one hundred and thirty-four thousand acres.

More than four thousand firefighters, supported by the Washington National Guard and crews from other states, are deployed statewide.

Bob Ferguson, Washington’s governor, declared a statewide wildfire emergency and ordered a broad outdoor burn ban through September.

"Our state is facing a very serious situation with multiple fires, and our hearts go out to Washingtonians who are losing their homes," he said.

The National Weather Service issued a rare "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warning for eastern Washington, reflecting the combination of heat, drought-dried vegetation and gusts that reached about forty-five miles an hour.

Officials have not reported fire-related deaths, injuries or missing people.

The fires have exposed how rapidly a summer brush fire can become an urban emergency in the inland Pacific Northwest.

Fire crews remain focused on protecting homes and infrastructure as changing winds determine where the next threat will fall.