Wildfire season is in full blaze, with fires burning throughout the entire west coast and elsewhere in the country. The Spokane Fire Complex, burning near Spokane, Wash., first erupted on Aug. 21 and has since destroyed over 7,200 acres of land and several homes as firefighters continue in their attempts to contain it.

The Spokane Complex consists of the Yale Fire, located 12 miles south of Spokane, and the Wellesley Fire, which is seven miles northeast of the city.

As of the most recent update from InciWeb, posted at approximately 2:00 p.m. EST, the Yale Fire was measured at 6,886 acres and still burning. Firefighters report that they have progressed in containing the Yale Fire perimeter and currently boast fifty percent containment. The Wellesley Fire, a much smaller blaze, at 365 acres, is now fully contained.

Both the Yale and Wellesley Fires were ignited on Aug. 21, though the official causes are still unknown and under investigation. At the time they sparked, a dry cold front was moving through the surrounding area and brought with it strong gusty winds. The result of that first day's weather on this complex pushed both wildfires to make "very active wind driven runs during their initial runs," authorities report.

The small section of the complex, the Wellesley blaze, resulted in the destruction of two homes and forced local residents to evacuate. Though the fire is now entirely contained, officials maintain that firefighters remain vigilant and continue to patrol the site with crews as well as engines.

The trickier firefight that authorities face is with the Yale wildfire, which remains active and fueled by dry grasses and timber. This fire is expected to continue to slowly spread throughout the nearby canyons as firefighters continue to work on creating and maintaining a fire perimeter while pushing for further containment. Reports note that this work should become easier going forward, as cooler temperatures, higher relative humidity, and diminishing winds should assist in keeping fire spread to a minimum.

Under the lead of the Washington Department of Natural Resources, fire personnel anticipate a final containment date for the Spokane Complex in its entirety to occur on or around Sept. 26, 2016.

Many residents in the communities surrounding where the Yale Fire continues to burn were evacuated since it first ignited. In total and to date, 10 homes have been destroyed while 167 additional residences remain threatened by the blaze.

However, as of late Tuesday Aug. 23, the Spokane County Sheriffs Office reduced all evacuations in the area to level one (see official "Level 1 Fire Evacuation Boundary" below). A level one evacuation notice is meant to inform the public that a fire is still burning in the area and that they should remain aware.

On Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 24, fire managers involved with the Spokane Complex announced that they were sponsoring a public meeting to be held later on in the evening at 6:00 p.m. local time, at the Freeman High School gymnasium.

The meeting has been organized in order to touch base with the community as well as to interact with members of the public regarding the fire situation as it currently stands. For any residents with inquiries or concerns regarding the Spokane Complex situation, fire information is available via telephone, by calling (509) 477-2780 or by e-mail, where the contact address is spokanecomplexfires@gmail.com.