Wildland fires in eastern Washington during early August 2026 generated heavy smoke, destroyed hundreds of structures and triggered mandatory evacuations in Spokane and neighboring counties. The Little Giant fire, ignited on July 15 by lightning, burned more than 38,500 acres with zero containment and sent smoke east‑northeast toward Idaho, Montana and Canadian provinces; air quality in Chelan, Leavenworth and Wenatchee was forecast to become unhealthy to very unhealthy. The Spokane Area fires — including the Old Trails, Fairview and Autumn Lane fires — grew from 5,400 acres to over 8,000 acres by August 3 and destroyed or damaged more than 600 structures, prompting evacuations in parts of Spokane and Stevens counties. More than 1,000 fires have burned about 425,000 acres since the start of the year, the highest total since 2021, with 12 large fires still active accounting for over 200,000 acres. Persistent drought, extreme fire weather, strong winds and high temperatures led the National Weather Service to issue Washington’s first‑ever “particularly dangerous situation” alert on July 31. Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide wildfire emergency and burn ban on August 1, and the National Guard and Department of Natural Resources increased resources to support suppression efforts. NASA’s Disasters Program has been activated to provide maps and data products to agencies responding to the fires.