A wildfire raging east of Washington state's Cascade Mountains has destroyed about 100 homes and displaced hundreds of people.
The four-blaze Carlton Complex fire destroyed homes in and around the town of Pateros, about 120 miles (193 kms) northeast of Seattle.
The town's 650 people were under mandatory evacuation orders, though some began returning on Friday to survey the charred remains of their homes and belongings.
The Carlton Complex fire was triggered by lightning strikes on Monday. It has since burned more than 100,000 acres (40,500 hectares) of parched vegetation.
The fire is among more than two dozen burning from southern California to Idaho as drought-parched Western states enter their annual fire season.
Both Washington and Oregon have declared states of emergency as wildfires scorched thousands of acres, destroying homes, outbuildings and crops.
In Oregon, more than a dozen fires have erupted in the past week, with one of the largest, the Waterman Complex, burning more than 4,300 acres 10 miles northeast of the small eastern city of Mitchell. Officials ordered about 20 households to evacuate.
There have been no reports of injuries in Washington, but officials stressed the situation was fluid and damage was still being assessed. The fire was zero percent contained on Friday as firefighters struggled in dry conditions that made for extreme burning conditions.
Evacuations were urged throughout the region and emergency shelters have opened.
Officials are warning that without improvements in weather conditions, the fires could grow much larger.
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