Fire torches garage on West Plains and completely destroys camper

A fire on Westbow Boulevard on the West Plains torched a residential garage, the truck inside it and a nearby camper on Tuesday morning.

No one was inside, and it didn’t appear there were any pets inside either, fire officials said.

Spokane County Fire District 3 put out the fire that burned through the two-story garage before it reached the connected family home.

Ryan Power, division chief for Fire District 3, said the fire caused extensive damage to the garage, which had a second story used as a living space.

Everything inside was a “total loss,” an officer at the scene said.

Crews received the call to the property, 9115 W. Westbow Blvd., at around 10:30 a.m.

The property is owned by Tenly and Angelo Karkoff, according to county property records.

The cause is under investigation, Power said..

Firefighters used ground resources to contain spotting, which became a bigger threat because of the amount of dry brush around, he said.

The Spokane area is facing a high fire danger because of an exceptional drought and hot temperatures, Power said.