Eastern Washington

A new report from Washington's state hospital and community health associations projects hospitals will lose nearly $6 billion in revenue through 2033 due to federal Medicaid cuts enacted under last year's Republican-backed tax and spending law. Sen. Maria Cantwell and healthcare leaders warned the roughly $900 billion in nationwide cuts will raise ER wait times, premiums and uncompensated care costs. About 200,000 Washingtonians are expected to lose coverage by next year, partly due to new work requirements starting January 1 and the removal of coverage for refugees and asylees. Rural hospitals, including on the Olympic Peninsula, face the steepest losses, with clinics also bracing for major reimbursement shortfalls and reduced patient visits.

The Hawk fire, which ignited near a hiking trail northwest of Reno, Nevada, over the weekend, forced tens of thousands to evacuate—at one point reaching roughly 90,000 residents under evacuation orders or warnings—and burned over 15,000 acres, with containment reaching 85% this week. Authorities confirmed at least 47 homes destroyed, with the number expected to rise, and six people injured, including three civilians and three firefighters, none life-threatening. Officials say the fire, like most U.S. wildfires, was human-caused, though whether it was intentional remains under investigation. Driven by wind gusts exceeding 40 mph and low humidity, flames spread nearly 6 miles in under 24 hours through dry grass and brush near Somersett, a master-planned community, before jumping Highway 395. Nevada's governor declared an emergency and activated the National Guard; schools closed and two medical facilities evacuated patients.

The fire highlights the risks of Reno's rapid growth—26% population increase since 2010—into fire-prone wildland-urban interface areas, a pattern experts say mirrors destructive fires in California, Washington and elsewhere. More than 800 firefighters battled the blaze, one of several major fires near Reno this season, including the larger Bug and Stallion fires. Experts warn that continued development in these landscapes without hardening measures will keep communities vulnerable to future catastrophic fires.