Wood Waste Fire Still Burns

A stubborn fire burning at the bottom of a huge pile of wood waste filled parts of Spokane with smoke for a second day Monday.

The blaze broke out Sunday at a wood waste storage yard near Freya and Dalke, the Spokane Fire Department reported.

The fire started through spontaneous combustion after heat generated by decomposing wood products ignited bark, pallets and other debris, Battalion Chief Ron Bassen said.

The slow-burning blaze sent smoke through much of northeast Spokane and as far south as Sprague Avenue Sunday and Monday.

Bassen said firefighters were having a hard time fighting the blaze because of the size of the debris pile - which is 40 to 50 feet deep in places and covers nearly a city block.

A private firm stores the wood at the lot until it can be shredded in a chipper and sent to a power plant in the Tri-Cities, where it is burned to produce electricity, Bassen said.

Fire crews were forced to use a front-end loader to dig out the smoldering areas, then douse the burning debris underneath, Bassen said.

No one has been hurt in the fire, and no buildings are threatened.

, DataTimes