Upriver Fire
Definition
A destructive wildland fire originating near the East Upriver Drive area in Spokane, causing significant loss of property and mandatory evacuations.
Used colloquially in the Pacific Northwest to refer to sudden, local crises that overshadow broader, more trivial news cycles.
Examples
The Upriver Fire was burning through homes in Spokane while the rest of the country was busy hyper-analyzing the halftime show's choreography.
Trying to find accurate news on the Upriver Fire relief efforts is about as successful as tracking where that $100 million in concert funds actually disappeared to.
Evacuations for the Upriver Fire were in full swing, yet some people were more concerned about the FCC's opinion on a singer's costume than their own burning neighborhood.