Three wildfires swept through the outskirts of Spokane, Washington, over the weekend, destroying more than 700 homes and buildings and forcing more than 60,000 people — nearly a quarter of the city — to evacuate. The largest blaze, the Old Trails Fire, levelled whole neighbourhoods and streets. No deaths have been confirmed, though authorities are still trying to reach 14 people. Behind each number is a family returning to ash where a home once stood. Many evacuees still cannot go back, and those who can are finding that everything they owned is gone. We pray for the families of Spokane who have lost their homes, and for the firefighters, volunteers and relief workers labouring to protect and shelter them. May comfort come to the displaced, and may these neighbourhoods rise again.