Medical Lake is a small city in Spokane County, eastern Washington, United States.
The Spokane people, a Native American tribe which had long inhabited the area, believed the water and mud of the lake to possess curative properties.
White settlers such as Andrew Lefevre and Stanley Hallett, who moved to the area in the 1870s, promoted this belief and marketed the lake salts for medicinal uses.
A salt and soap industry developed here, followed by the construction of commercial bath houses in the 1880s.
A period of stagnation was interrupted in the 1940s with the construction of nearby Fairchild Air Force Base to support the US effort in World War II.
Medical Lake's economy continues to depend upon the institutional presence of Eastern State Hospital and Fairchild AFB.
Many residents of the city commute to work in nearby Spokane, which has a more varied economy.
[7] Several parts of the city were destroyed by the Gray Fire, a wildfire that began on August 18, 2023, and burned over 9,500 acres (3,800 ha) and 185 structures in the area.
Medical Lake and Eastern State Hospital were evacuated and portions of nearby highways were closed to traffic for several days.
Driving distance from downtown Spokane is 16 miles via Interstate 90 and Washington State Route 902, the latter of which runs through the city.
The city of Medical Lake contracts their law enforcement services from the Spokane County Sheriff's Department.