Burn ban in effect for area cities

The hotter, drier weather means that a burn ban is now in effect for the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and Millwood.

Recreational fires in backyard fire pits are no longer allowed. The ban does not include manufactured portable outdoor fireplaces, barbecues or patio warmers. The only fuels that can be used in those allowed items are seasoned wood, charcoal briquettes, natural gas or propane.

The burning of yard waste or residential trash is not allowed. Residents who violate the burn ban face a possible misdemeanor charge that carries a fine of up to $1,000 and possible jail time.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department typically responds to several trash fires and other illegal fires every week, including the week of July 8-14. Five fires were reported on the day of the “big winds,” mostly due to power lines going down and starting grass fires, said assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford.

A woman in the 18900 block of East Valleyway called 911 at 11:34 p.m. to report a small basement fire. Firefighters considered the fire suspicious and called in a fire investigator. The woman eventually confessed that she set the fire and she was charged with first-degree arson, Clifford said.

A patron at Ichabod’s Tavern didn’t put out his cigarette correctly on the outside patio and set the wood on fire on July 12. The person has been identified and will most likely be charged with discarding potentially dangerous material, which carries a $1,025 fine, Clifford said. It’s the same ticket the department can give to drivers who throw cigarettes out car windows. “If we get their license number and vehicle description we can write them a ticket and put it in the mail,” he said.

A slow-moving brush fire was reported in the area of 11400 E. Fruithill Road on July 12. “It could have been burning for a while,” Clifford said. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the department at (509) 928-1700.

A small trash fire also was put out by bystanders in the area of Pines Road and Mansfield Avenue that same day.

Other calls included a car with a punctured gas tank, a carpet in a vacant apartment that previously housed pets giving off a strong ammonia odor and two calls involving children locked in cars. There were 18 accidents during the week that sent five people to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.