Washington State Gray Fire Sees First Fatality As State of Emergency Declared

A state of emergency was declared Saturday for Washington's Spokane County, as a raging wildfire killed at least one person and destroyed nearly 200 structures.

The state of emergency was scheduled to take effect at noon local time, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources wrote on social media, urging people to heed a Level 3 evacuation order previously issued on Friday.

"Please honor Level 3 evac, not doing so is hindering response," the agency wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The blaze, dubbed the Gray Fire, had destroyed at least 185 structures as of Saturday morning, and at least one fatality was confirmed, according to the agency. It did not immediately provide further details about the death.

As of Saturday morning, the Gray Fire had 0% containment, as firefighters faced "problematic weather" for battling the blaze, the agency wrote.