New Delhi, Aug. 3 -- As many as 60,000 people in the Spokane area were evacuated in the wake of deadly wildfires in the eastern Washington state. At least 600 homes, businesses and other structures were reportedly destroyed, authorities said Sunday.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state's second largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles (about 21 square kilometers) over the weekend and were among dozens of wildfires across the Western US that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them.

A total of about 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained, the Associated Press reported.

Fire and law...