Fire Contained, But Forecast Calls For Wind Dnr Hopes To Have Fire Under Control Today, Winds Up To 25 Mph Predicted For Friday

Firefighters battling the West Plains blaze completed a fire line around more than 3,000 charred acres Tuesday but worried high winds could trigger an encore later this week.

The wildfire was declared contained by nightfall, and crews were busy mopping up hot spots.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources hopes to have the fire under control today.

“We’re really worried about a wind event, so we need to wrap this thing up,” said the DNR’s Bill Lewis.

The National Weather Service predicts winds gusting to 25 mph Friday.

The wildfire, which started Sunday afternoon, blackened 3,020 acres along a path six miles long and one mile wide, according to satellite mapping done Tuesday morning.

Eight homes were destroyed, and one was damaged. The American Red Cross is working with five families displaced by the fire and has placed four families in hotels.

State investigators didn’t announce a cause of the fire Tuesday. That could take weeks or months, officials said.

The main target of the investigation continues to be an area behind a large, well-kept home at 3726 N. Christensen Road, about three miles north of Fairchild Air Force Base, officials said.

Charred ground fans out northeast from behind where a 55-gallon burn barrel stood Sunday and Monday.

Burning trash or yard waste - in or out of burn barrels - is prohibited in Spokane County except for a few days during the spring and fall, said Eric Skelton, director of the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority.

Delbert and LaVaughn Nuner, who own the Christensen Road home, have declined to comment.

If DNR investigators find evidence of negligence, the agency must try to recoup losses under state law, officials said.

Initial estimates indicate the cost of battling the West Plains blaze could run about $550,000. Damage to homes and property has been placed at about $650,000.

The state said firefighting efforts protected about $10 million in homes and property.

More than 570 firefighters from across the state have battled the wind-driven fire, which started to die down Monday.

On Tuesday, the DNR sent home 48 engines and about 100 firefighters. But 100 firefighters from Fairchild Air Force Base and state prisons joined the mop-up operation.

“It’s looking very good out there,” said Dick Gormley, District 10 fire chief.

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The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Kim Barker Staff writer The Associated Press contributed to this report.