Because of her injuries following her escape from a wildfire in Spokane, Donna was unable to care for Shadow, the dog who saved her life by alerting her to the danger. That's when Best Friends staff and volunteers jumped in to help. Hear Donna's story.

Some residents have started returning home after some evacuation orders were lifted yesterday. Now, the community’s needs are shifting from evacuation and emergency sheltering to reunification of pets with their people, veterinary care, replacement supplies, and longer-term recovery support.

Thanks to more than 24 organizations taking in animals, Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) has reported that all dogs and social cats who were already at local shelters prior to the fires have now been placed with partners. This makes room for the incoming animals following the wildfires. Best Friends will continue coordinating with SCRAPS and regional partners as needs arise.Read more

A dedicated volunteer veterinary coordinator is organizing and prioritizing veterinary resources. Current priorities include helping staff at Mt. Spokane Veterinary Hospital, animals at Red Cross evacuation centers, and wildfire-impacted animals requiring care. Best Friends is offering financial assistance to Washington-based veterinarians to travel to support Spokane needs.

Best Friends continues to lead the pet task force for Washington. Current efforts are focused on supporting animals at the Spokane County Fairgrounds evacuation center, coordinating resources, and reducing duplication among responding organizations. We continue to monitor wildfire activity around the state to assess potential animal-related needs.

Best Friends continues to support animals and families impacted by the wildfires in Spokane and surrounding communities. Teams are conducting animal welfare checks, searching for pets who may have been left behind during evacuations, and helping with rescue efforts in affected areas.

The animal assistance hotline has now supported more than 50 callers with evacuation support, animal care needs, and other resources. Best Friends volunteers have also arrived in Spokane to help distribute pet supplies and support other response efforts.Read more

Twenty animal welfare organizations have expressed interest in taking in adoptable pets from Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS), and Best Friends is working to coordinate placements and logistics. Through the Washington State Pet Task Force, Best Friends is also helping direct donated animal supplies to Okanogan County, where resources for evacuated families and their pets are more limited.

The Washington Department of Agriculture is sharing the animal assistance hotline through its social media channels, helping connect more people impacted by the wildfires with available animal resources.

More than 67,000 residents remain under evacuation orders, approximately 850 structures have been destroyed, and firefighters continue making progress on containment while maintaining evacuation zones with a hot, dry, and windy forecast.

Best Friends continues supporting Humane Evacuation Animal Rescue Team (HEART) and American Red Cross shelter operations at the Spokane County Fairgrounds. Two emergency response volunteer teams have been mobilized to provide support.Read more

Best Friends also continues to work with Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) on a pet reunification project that uses cameras, tracking, AI, and trained volunteers. It is being designed as a scalable model for future disaster responses. Camera deployment should begin today behind the fire line in coordination with local law enforcement.

Best Friends convened the inaugural Washington State Pet Task Force, where we initiated statewide animal reporting for evacuation shelters and identified opportunities to use hotline information for statewide planning.

Additionally, our Pacific team is assisting with finding veterinary support to provide relief for the main clinics caring for animals impacted by the wildfires.

Wildfire response operations continue to evolve with ongoing safety concerns and growing needs from evacuated families following federal disaster declaration for the state of Washington. Best Friends has been asked by the Washington Emergency Management Division to lead the Washington State Pet Task Force.

With support from Best Friends, Spokane Humane Society took in 22 cats, six dogs, and a litter of puppies from Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) to create space for animals displaced by the fires. Stipends are being offered to all Best Friends Network Partners willing to take in adoptable pets who were already in shelters before the fires. Transport flights are not scheduled yet but will be arranged if the need grows beyond what local organizations can support.Read more

Best Friends is also supporting evacuation shelter operations at the Spokane County Fairgrounds and Red Cross evacuation shelters in hopes of reuniting pets with their families, as well as partnering with SCRAPS on a reunification project, which includes using cameras to locate pets who were left behind.

Access to veterinary care is a concern due to wildfire-related clinic disruptions. So Best Friends is coordinating with state veterinary organizations and other local resources for support opportunities.

Best Friends continues to work with Spokane County Emergency Management, focusing on needs assessments, shelter support, and ensuring that systems are in place to connect impacted residents and responders with animal-related resources.

The animal assistance hotline has been established. The public can call 509-267-4646 regarding lost and found pets, sheltering, donations, reunification, livestock concerns, and animal resources.Read more

HEART (Humane Evacuation Animal Rescue Team) is currently managing animal sheltering operations at the Spokane County Fairgrounds through a hybrid sheltering model that includes both sheltering for displaced people and their pets and sheltering for unclaimed animals.

To make room, Best Friends is working to move adoptable animals who were already at local shelters prior to the fires out of the area by offering stipends to partner organizations.

Over 60,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in the Spokane, Washington, area due to multiple wildfires. Over 12.5 square miles of land are affected, and there is 0% containment.

Best Friends is on the ground in Spokane per the request of the county and will be acting as the lead for animal-related issues. We are currently determining the needs of our network partners and the local community, including local tribal nations. We are working on setting up an informational hotline for fire-impacted residents and are in contact with a local veterinarian who has already been treating pets with smoke inhalation and burns.

There is a possibility that we will send volunteers to help on the ground.