Kira Townsend, 39, says she realised the immense danger when word came that the fire had jumped over the river, which normally acts as a barrier protecting the city from fires.
"It's never jumped the river like that, and just roared up the hill that fast," she says.
Nearly a quarter of the city population – 65,000 people – were forced to evacuate since the fires began. For those whose homes did not burn down, officials say it may be weeks before it is safe to return to their neighbourhoods.
Miraculously, there have been no deaths or major injuries reported from the fires.
Matthew Kincanon, 31, fled for his life as the fire entered his neighbourhood of Prosperity Lane on Saturday night. He returned 12 hours later to discover that there was nothing left.
"As soon as I stepped out of the car I threw up," he says. "I felt sick. I couldn't control it. I just lost it. It hit me all at once," he says.
While firefighters battle three large fires around the city that remain less than 40% contained, the recovery effort is beginning for people who have lost everything.
"We have two fronts going at the same time. We're actively fighting the fire and trying to put that out. But we're also starting recovering for folks that have lost their homes," City Councilman Zack Zappone, who grew up in the devastated Indian Trails neighbourhood, tells the BBC.
"There just a lot of uncertainty and frustrations and difficultness," he says at a city shelter, describing the tensions in the city.
Anger has intensified since police charged a local man, who has allegedly confessed to sparking one of the fires.
"I was so happy they got him. It's just not right," says lifelong resident Susan Crouch, 70, who previously lost her home to wildfire.
The fires this summer, she adds, "are the worst Spokane has ever had".
Local media reported that he had previously been questioned for arson, and had a prior conviction for killing his own father in Arizona in 2010.
The suspect, Aaron Farinacci, 37, has not yet entered a plea, and a judge has ordered him to undergo a mental competency evaluation.
According to investigators, he specifically chose a dry, windy day, in the hopes of sparking a large fire. More dry windy days are in the forecast.
