Area firefighters nip local fires in bud, urge area citizens to be extremely careful

Resources stretched thin in state, country

 

Last updated 8/1/2018 at 9:28am

A Bureau of Reclamation firefighter applies water while Police Chief John Tufts pulls hose from the truck during a fire Thursday by Hometown Pizza on SR-174 in Grand Coulee. - Scott Hunter photo

Volunteer firefighters in Grand Coulee responded quickly to local fires recently, stopping them before they could grow in size and do major damage.

Firefighters responded to a fire right in Hometown Pizza's backyard on July 26, the second fire that week following a July 23 smoldering fire in a pile of manure.

The Hometown Pizza fire was responded to by 14 firefighters, five fire engines, two law enforcement officers, and two Grant County PUD linemen who kept the grass and brush fire to approximately a quarter of an acre, a press release from the fire department stated.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is possibly from cigarette remains or powerline failure.

Two utility poles were damaged from the fire.

At 8 a.m. on July 23, firefighters responded to the smoldering pile of manure at the Ridge Riders Rodeo Grounds.

Three firefighters and one fire engine joined Ridge Riders Saddle Club members to handle the fire.

"We were very fortunate that the fires were discovered and firefighters were called while they were small and we had little wind," Fire Chief Rick Paris stated. "Both fires could have become very large, very quickly in the hot, windy weather we have been experiencing."

Paris said firefighters are urging everyone to be very careful during outside activities "until we receive some significant rain."

"The 100-degree days and the dry grass and brush take very little spark to start a fire," Paris said, noting that Douglas County fought four major fires last weekend.

"Please be safe, and if you see a fire, call right away," Paris added. "Do not assume someone else will."

The press release also mentioned that California has had fires in the past weeks where many homes have burned and three firefighters and five citizens have lost their lives."

The Department of Natural Resources, the state's largest firefighting force, stated Tuesday the agency has responded to 891 fires this year that have burned a total of 113,000 acres, 94 percent of which were kept under 10 acres due to quick responses.

The department has been using strategies that emphasize quick air attack on fires, as well as positioning equipment in high-risk areas.

With 96 percent of the state experiencing drought-like conditions, the number of fires has state firefighting resources stretched thin. Out-of-state assistance is also limited. The National Interagency Fire Center raised the national preparedness level to 5 – the highest level – meaning that national resources are fully committed.

"The efforts of our firefighters have been nothing short of heroic, but the sheer number and geographic range of wildfires have stretched our resources thin," said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. "Our state is at a very high risk for even more wildfires, and we need additional resources to keep our communities safe. I want to thank the National Guard for providing help at this critical moment."

With Gov. Jay Inslee's declaration of a state emergency Tuesday, the National Guard can be used to fight wildfires.

Tomorrow morning, two National Guard Blackhawk helicopters will stage at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane and prepare for initial attack on wildfires. The National Guard is also deploying five 20-person crews in northeast Washington on existing wildfires.

 

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