Eastern Washington fires have burned 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 5,000 homes

About 5,000 homes have been evacuated and about 600 homes, businesses and other buildings have been destroyed by wildfires that remained uncontained Sunday in eastern Washington state, authorities said.

The fires burned more than 8.2 square miles around Spokane, the second largest city in Washington, and were among dozens across the western U.S. - stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.

No deaths have yet been reported from the fires in the Spokane area.

While the high temperature Sunday in Spokane was forecast to remain below 80 degrees Fahrenheit, wind gusts from 35 mph to 45 mph were expected later in the day, said Benjamin Cossel, public information officer for the federal response team from California called in Saturday night to deal with the Spokane-area fires.

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