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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fire 80 percent contained, still under investigation

A group of firefighters from the Methow Valley work on hot spots west of Ely Lane, in the Spokane Valley.  (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Officials on Monday continued to investigate the cause of a wildfire that burned more than 1,000 acres of Spokane Valley forests and destroyed 11 homes, even as hundreds of firefighters worked to mop up hot spots ahead of expected winds.

The fire was about 80 percent contained with bulldozed and hand-cut lines Monday evening with more than 500 firefighters and support staff still on scene, a fire information officer said.

“They think they’ve got enough trail around it and water on it to keep it contained,” Spokane Valley Fire Department Chief Mike Thompson said earlier in the day. “Right now, there’s just a few smoldering spots.”

Fighting the blaze – which spread near Dishman Hills Natural Area Thursday afternoon – had cost roughly $1.7 million through Monday, said Dale Warriner, fire information officer. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pick up 70 percent of that tab, he said.

The fire cut a swath south and east from where it was first reported – near South Eastern Road and East Moreland Drive – to Dishman-Mica Road. In some places, it burned south as far as East 36th Avenue. Destroyed homes ranged from a house assessed at $130,000 near Dishman-Mica to a nearly $2 million home atop the hill.

While officials remained reticent about who caused the blaze – which they earlier attributed to a runaway backyard fire – area residents confirmed reports the blaze started between the private street South Valleyview Lane and gated drive South Eastern Lane.

“Here’s a pretty serious situation,” Warriner said. “We need to get it right.”

Speaking early Thursday evening as crews battled the fire adjacent to her property, Southwood resident Tracy Berg said it appeared the blaze started on the vacant, wooded parcel next door to hers. She said fire investigators already had visited the property.

The fire was only a few hundred square feet when 22-year-old neighbor Taylor Hamby heard it was burning in the brush across Valleyview Lane, he said. Neighbors have speculated an improperly muffled ATV or a campfire at a nearby house sparked the blaze, he said.

Hamby, his relatives and strangers from around Spokane spent the evening using garden hoses, shovels and rakes to extinguish spot fires around their cul-de-sac, trying to keep flames away from a neighbor’s house.

“During the afternoon, I mean, it was almost impossible to breathe or even look into the fire because it was so hot and smoky,” Hamby said.

He injured his knee running to a hot spot about 12:30 a.m., he said. That landed him in the hospital, with 30 stitches.

Hamby said the initial response seemed inadequate.

“I just think they way underestimated the wind and the potential of the fire, and there’s just no excuse for that, especially in a wooded area,” Hamby said. “I’m glad they were able to protect our house.”

While damage estimates for the blaze are unknown, the fire’s toll is less than previously thought: Only 11 homes burned, not 13 houses as originally tallied, Thompson said.

The fire also claimed five outbuildings larger than 150 square feet and five sheds, according to the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Greg and Pat Kroetch lost their home of 26 years to the fire.

The two-story, custom-built house their five children and 13 grandchildren know as home is gone, along with everything inside. But the Kroetches, owners of Percy’s Cafe Americana in Spokane Valley, say they’ll likely rebuild at the same address, 8210 E. Lewis Lane.

“We really know what’s important in life now,” Pat Kroetch said. “I just have nothing but thanksgiving about the way people have been with us, wishing us the very best and offering to help in any way they can.”

Winds forecast for today and later this week were a concern earlier in the day, but Warriner said predictions indicate gusts won’t be “even close to what we had Thursday.”

Staff writers Meghann M. Cuniff and Jonathan Brunt contributed to this report.