We Are Evacuated

We are evacuated.  We're in an absolutely horrible hotel in Spokane Valley.  I think we got the last vacancy.  I'm hoping to go somewhere else tomorrow, but we have this booked just in case.  There are many screaming children.  

The winds were driving the fire.  It was able to jump the Spokane river.  One of our neighbors has an app that shows the fire taking a turn to the west.  So, unless the wind direction changes, our neighborhood should still be standing.  I have no idea how long before we can go back in.  Before we left, the police were going door to door telling people to get out.  We hid from them because we weren't ready to go.  We ended up leaving the jeep and the bikes so that we could be in the car together.  Traffic getting to the freeway was just horrendous.

The Veterans' Hospital has been evacuated, shelters are full. This is the worst thing I've ever been in.  This is from the kitchen window, when we first realized things were bad.

The smoke as seen from I90 on the way to Spokane Valley.

The police put crime scene tape on the post light.  Not sure why.

This is a crown fire, meaning that fire is jumping between tops of trees.  That sort of fire spreads quickly.  A wildfire is fought differently than a crown fire.  Crown fires require water to be placed on the tree tops, wild fires are fought with setting back burns and digging fire breaks.  Washington has made a disaster declaration.  National Guard is mobilized.  

Here is a happy thing.

So, this is what's happening with us.

Update, Jim just talked to the neighbor who lives up at the end of the street.  Fire was approaching his house, fire fighters arrived in the nick of time, and he suffered no damage.  The rest of the hood is good.