Fire burns 50 acres west of Spokane

Firefighters quickly contained a 50-acre brush fire that began near a mobile home park on the West Plains on Saturday. The fire began at about 6 p.m. and swept east, burning a narrow swath of trees just south of Interstate 90 near 7700 W. Westbow Blvd., fire officials said. The fire was contained shortly after 7 p.m. Investigators have not determined the fire’s cause. No one was injured in the blaze, and three outbuildings and an abandoned vehicle were destroyed, officials said. Dixie Bynum, who lives in the mobile home park, was having a yard sale when she saw the flames. Within minutes, she saw fire above the trees, just a few yards from her front porch. “It is so dry out in those woods,” Bynum said. “I imagine if anyone rides a bike through there it would light it up.” Bynum and several neighbors tried to stop the fire, running out with hoses. Linda Patterson, another resident of the park, said her kids came running into her house shouting about the fire. Terrified, Patterson ran outside to see the flames. “If one trailer went, I’m sure they all would have went,” Patterson said. Fire District 3, Fire District 10, the Medical Lake Fire Department and the Department of Natural Resources responded to the fire, Fire District 3 Chief Bruce Holloway said. About 20 trucks and a DNR retardant-dumping airplane were on the scene. “We got a lot of people out quick and nailed it,” Holloway said.