Try not to get sweaty palms watching this video! And you may want to turn the volume down if you’re at the office or around children. The video that follows is a heart-pumping escape from a wildfire that shows a sheriff screaming (with edits) as he exits a rapidly developing inferno near Spokane Washington.
The Incredible Video of a Forrest Fire Near Spokane, Washington
What you’re seeing above is body cam footage from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Officer Brittan Morgan was driving through an area near wildfires to warn residents that they needed to leave immediately. The resident closest to the fire ended up evacuating and likely had his life saved by Sheriff Morgan’s actions.
Background on the Spokane Wildfires
The Spokane wildfires started on about August 18th, west of Medical Lake. It’s worth noting that while the fires are spreading rapidly due to arid conditions, they are human-caused.
In total, the fires have consumed about 15.75 square miles as of September 5th, and are 85% contained.
Another major fire in the Pacific Northwest is burning east of Elk in Oregon and has burned 16.9 miles. In recent years the Pacific Northwest has seen intensifying wildfires across the summer as rainfall dries up. During these times air conditions often deteriorate in major cities like Seattle and Portland.
In fact, Seattle had the worst air quality in the world last October as AQI levels reached over 240.
Pacific Northwest Wildfires in 2023
Overall, 2023 hasn’t seen as many wildfires as the Pacific Northwest saw in 2022. However, in Oregon, there has been a significant band of wildfires stretching from west of Bend southwest to the Pacific Ocean.
Washington state has recently seen bad wildfires near Spokane, but other wildfires burn across the state. The Sourdough Fire in the North Cascades burned 6,234 acres, the Yellpit Fire burned 1,582 near the Tri-Cities, and the Airplane Lake Fire burned 5,160 acres northwest of Leavenworth.
