Resident looks to rebuild as Fruitland fire still burns

Standing on a charred ridgeline, Lorne Brunson surveyed his destroyed home.

“This was beautiful,” he said.

Brunson’s home was one of five destroyed in a fire near Fruitland, Washington. Part of the Stevens County Complex, the fire has burned 5,000 acres and is still threatening 100 homes. A spokeswoman for the firefighting effort said there was “no containment” as of Sunday night.

Most of Brunson’s 50 or so chickens survived the blaze Thursday. As far as Brunson could tell, the chickens survived by huddling near his above-ground swimming pool, which burst in the flames. The fire got so hot at points that it melted a metal water tank.

“It’ll be an interesting winter,” Brunson said – as interesting as the family’s first in Fruitland after moving from California.

Brunson, his wife, Amber, and their 14-year-old daughter have lived in the small, unincorporated town for the last 10 years. Brunson moved to Fruitland after a stress-induced heart attack convinced him he needed a change of pace. His wife found the property by searching Google for “cheap land.”

They spent the first six years living without power. They still grow most of their own food, and sell honey to make a small but usually adequate living. They lost 24 of their 100 hives in the fire. Most of Brunson’s garden survived the fire as well, although the heat wilted his cucumbers.

“I’m really ticked about the cucumbers,” he said, pausing. “Yup, this is crazy bad.”

His stoic optimism – he’s already started envisioning his next home – is just one of the tales coming out of the devastation and anguish caused by a spate of fires in Washington and North Idaho.

The severity and sheer number of fires have taxed state and federal resources – in cases forcing residents across the state to defend their homes.

Larry Lehrbas, of Fruitland, died Friday of a heart attack while trying to build a fire break near his home on a tractor, fire officials said.

Kathy Benson owns a general store, Fruitland Service Station, that on a normal day acts as a communication hub for the rural community. In the last few days it has become more of a supply headquarters.

“People call Fruitland for the damnedest things,” she said. “So, the minute something happens they start calling.”

Since Friday, people have dropped off canned goods, meat, water and other supplies for those affected by the fires.

As of Sunday evening, more than 60 people had donated, including one woman who drove from Spokane with a car full of food. Mark Kirkpatrick, a local farmer, brought sweet onions, zucchinis and home-cooked burgers. A Colville Pizza Hut donated 18 pizzas Sunday for firefighters, many of whom have been working for 40 straight hours.

Ginger Colvin is an employee at the Fruitland store. She started the donation program and continues to organize the drop-offs.

“We’re from a great community that pulled together,” she said.

Colvin started an online fundraising campaign and continues to disseminate information to concerned residents.

In Hunters, Washington, a town about 10 miles from Fruitland, MaryAnn Rieckers stood Sunday among her 100 or so animals she’d evacuated from her Coyote Canyon home the day before.

“All we could see out of our front porch was a huge glowing red,” she said of the fire.

Seventeen people checked into a Red Cross shelter established at Columbia High School in Hunters, officials said.

Now, Brunson is staying on Benson’s property and waiting for his land to cool. He’ll then start rebuilding and preparing for the winter.

Standing among the remains of his homestead, he alternates between despair and optimism.

“Next spring, it’s going to be gorgeous. It’s going to be grassy. It’s going to be beautiful,” he said. “We just have to get to that point.”