Bayview-area residents who fled ahead of a wildfire Sunday are being escorted back to their homes today for brief visits to see the damage and grab essential items like medication. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the Timberlake Fire Protection District in Athol planned to escort evacuees to their properties in the Cape Horn area east of Bayview starting at 8 this morning. Six homes and two other structures were destroyed by the fire, which blew up Sunday and swept through timber and brush in steep terrain. “Time is very limited, so residents will only have a few minutes at their homes,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday night. On Tuesday night, the fire’s size was revised to 1,380 acres, down from an earlier estimate of 2,000 acres. Officials said it was 35 percent contained, including the portion bordered by Lake Pend Oreille, and the cause remained under investigation/Jim Camden & Eli Francovich, SR. More here.

Question: Have you ever lost anything as a result of a fire?