Lakeview Fire Called ‘Confined,’ 20-Person Crew Remains On Site

The 270-acre Lakeview fire was declared confined Thursday morning.

Helicopters that were dropping buckets of water on the blaze on the west side of Lake Pend Oreille, stopped their work after 10 a.m. Two of the choppers were sent to fight Montana fires.

“We are not calling it contained or controlled,” said Greg Hetzler, U.S. Forest Service fire information officer. “There are places within the fire area we can’t get people into to to check. There could be hotspots we don’t know about.”

A 20-person “hot shot” crew remains on the scene fighting the fire. They will turn firefighting efforts over to the Sandpoint ranger district today.

The fire started Saturday, allegedly the result of a 9-year-old Post Falls youth playing with fireworks. His family could be held liable for the cost of fighting the fire, which exceeds $500,000.

, DataTimes