Autumn Lane Fire: Now the Nation's #1 Priority Wildfire Near Nine Mile Falls

Published:August 2, 2026 · Last updated: August 3, 2026 · Reviewed by Ertuğrul Öz, Certified Fire Chief & Training Specialist

The Autumn Lane Fire was first reported around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, 2026, burning near Nine Mile Falls along the Spokane County and Stevens County line. It started small — an early size-up put it at roughly 10 acres — but under the same extreme wind and humidity conditions driving the Old Trails and Fairview fires nearby, it grew fast: 40 acres, then 200, then 500 by that evening, then more than 3,300 acres by Sunday afternoon, according to incident command estimates reported by KREM 2. That growth now puts it nearly on par with the much larger Old Trails Fire in size, and crews have shifted the bulk of their attention to it specifically because the other two fires in the region have largely stopped spreading.

The fire jumped the Spokane River and pushed into the Suncrest area, where Stevens County Fire District 1 reported embers dropping on homes Saturday evening. At least three homes were confirmed burned in the fire's early hours. Highway 291 has been shut down into town at Nine Mile, and drivers are being told to avoid the area entirely. Together with the Old Trails and Fairview fires, Autumn Lane is now managed as part of a single federally coordinated response called the Spokane Area Fires, under California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 — but it is Autumn Lane specifically that has been elevated to the nation's top wildfire priority.

Why Autumn Lane Is the Nation's #1 Priority Fire

Embers carried ahead of the main fire front can ignite homes well before the flame line itself arrives — the exact pattern reported in Suncrest.

Federal wildfire resources are finite, and every day incident commanders nationwide rank active fires by threat level to decide where aircraft, hand crews, and engines get sent first. As of this weekend, the Autumn Lane Fire sits at the very top of that national list. Sen. Maria Cantwell confirmed the designation in a Sunday news conference, saying the federal government will prioritize the region because of it, and that crews are already arriving from more than a dozen states — from Florida to Alaska — as well as international support from Australia.

The reasoning is straightforward: Old Trails and Fairview, while larger in cumulative damage, have stopped advancing. Autumn Lane has not. Spokane City Fire Chief Tom Williams described it as still very active and said crews have only "relatively decent control" over its outer boundary — control that "can change at any time" if wind direction shifts again, which it did over the weekend. Large air tankers and Super Scooper aircraft have been specifically assigned to slow its spread, and Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has requested short-term federal emergency assistance through FEMA, which could include help with search-and-rescue and debris removal.

Current Evacuation Zones and Levels

Evacuation orders for the Autumn Lane Fire now cover both sides of the Spokane River and extend into Stevens County. Zones are changing as the fire moves, so treat the summary below as a starting point, not a substitute for the live Spokane County and Stevens County maps.

Red Cross shelters for evacuees are open at Kettle Falls Middle School and Jenkins High School in Chewelah, both accepting small animals. Large animals can be taken to the Stevens County Fairgrounds, Arden Rodeo Grounds, or Sprint Ranch. Anyone unsure whether their address is inside a zone should check the Spokane County or Stevens County evacuation map directly rather than relying on neighborhood word-of-mouth, since boundaries are drawn street by street.

Old Trails and Fairview: Status Right Now

The Old Trails Fire, burning in northwest Spokane near Riverside State Park, is holding at roughly 3,500 acres and remains responsible for the majority of the more than 600 structures lost across all three fires combined. The Fairview Fire near Mead has grown to about 979 acres and is also holding, with five state strike teams assigned to containment. Neither fire is contained, but incident command says forward progress has essentially stopped on both — which is precisely why resources have concentrated on Autumn Lane.

Across the combined Spokane Area Fires complex, no injuries have been confirmed as of this update, though Spokane County Fire District 3's chief has cautioned there is "potential for loss of life" given the scale of destroyed structures still being assessed — officials say it could take up to a week to determine how many of the 600-plus lost structures were homes. Roughly 60,000 people have evacuated within Spokane city limits alone.

Large air tankers and Super Scooper aircraft have been redirected specifically to the Autumn Lane Fire as it remains the most active of the three blazes.

What to Do If You're In or Near the Area

• ✓Check the Stevens County and Spokane County evacuation maps directly — Autumn Lane spans both counties, and zone updates don't always land on both maps at the same time.
• ✓Avoid Highway 291 near Nine Mile — it remains shut down and is being used by fire apparatus and evacuation traffic.
• ✓Treat a Level 2 order as your cue to leave, not just prepare — this fire has shown it can jump a river and spot embers well ahead of its main front.
• ✓If evacuating with animals, small pets are welcome at the Chewelah shelters; large animals should go to the Stevens County Fairgrounds, Arden Rodeo Grounds, or Sprint Ranch.
• ✗Don't assume wind direction will stay the same — Fire Chief Tom Williams specifically flagged shifting wind as the reason containment "can change at any time."
• ✗Don't return to check on property inside a Level 3 zone until officials declare it safe, even if you haven't seen visible flames nearby.

Where to Get Live Updates

For real-time acreage, containment, and evacuation zone boundaries, use official and local sources rather than any single news article, including this one:

• Spokane County's official evacuation map — current Level 1/2/3 zone boundaries for the Spokane County side of the fire.
• Stevens County Public Information Map — zone boundaries for the Stevens County/Suncrest side.
• Washington State Department of Natural Resources wildfire dashboard — statewide fire activity, acreage, and containment updates.
• Local broadcasters — KREM 2, KHQ, and The Spokesman-Review are providing rolling, on-the-ground coverage.
• AirNow.gov — for current air quality and smoke impact, including areas outside the fire perimeter.

We'll update this article as the situation develops. For the broader picture of what's burning across Spokane County, see our coverage of the Old Trails Fire.