Fire mobilization center staged at Fairchild

More firefighting firepower headed to Eastern Washington will be staged at Fairchild Air Force Base outside Spokane. The mobilization center at Fairchild is expected to be fully operational today and will include 20 large fire engines made to protect homes and communities threatened by wildfire, along with 10 water tankers. The engines are coming from Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. The resources are made possible after the Obama Administration approved Gov. Jay Inslee’s request for a federal emergency declaration. “These new assets will provide an incredible assist for our firefighters throughout Eastern Washington,” Inslee said today in a news release. “With erratic wind conditions and extremely dry fuels, our firefighters need every available resource to manage current fires and respond to new ones.” State Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark said the additional resources “will help fill our urgent need for fire engines and teams to protect people and buildings that are in harm’s way.” The state is battling 16 large wildfires that have consumed more than 590,000 acres. As of Saturday evening, 520,000 acres were still burning across Central and Eastern Washington. More than 200 homes have been destroyed, while more than 12,000 homes and thousands more structures remain threatened, officials said. Three firefighters were killed last week while responding to a wildfire near Twisp. The men were found inside their Forest Service Type-6 engine, a crew cab truck, which had gone off a road on a curve when the fire suddenly turned direction and raced toward them and other firefighters. A fourth firefighter in the truck, Daniel Lyon, 25, of Puyallup, escaped with third-degree burns over about two-thirds of his body, fire officials said. Lyon remains in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Investigators said they do not expect to be able to interview him for some time. As of today 700 members of the Washington National Guard will join thousands of firefighters across the state to fight the fires. National Guard Blackhawk helicopters from Wyoming, Colorado and Minnesota will join the helicopters from Washington. More than 276,000 gallons of water have been poured on the fires from Blackhawk helicopters so far. “We will have 10 helicopters on the fires by tomorrow,” said Major Gen. Bret Daughterty of the Washington National Guard. Another 200 National Guard members will be given critical fire training soon to provide relief for existing fire crews, Daughterty said. The mobilization center at Fairchild will be managed by a 17-person team from San Diego and will coordinate with the Washington State Patrol Fire Marshal, the state Military Department’s Emergency Management Division and Washington National Guard, the state Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Forest Service and local officials.