Couple Say Mower Sparked Disastrous Fire State Investigators Insist Evidence Points To Trash-Burning Barrel

A West Plains couple blamed for starting a wildfire that destroyed eight homes last August claim their lawn mower, not their burn barrel, ignited the blaze.

Officials from the state Department of Natural Resources contend garbage burning in a 55-gallon drum owned by Delbert and LaVaughn Nuner sparked the Bowie Road fire, which scorched more than 3,000 acres in western Spokane County.

DNR officials recently sent the Nuners a $1.2 million bill for the cost of battling the fire.

While the couple admitted to starting the blaze, they claimed sparks thrown when their riding lawn mower backfired Aug. 11 ignited dry grass in their back yard, according to a recently released DNR report.

Hot winds blowing at more than 30 mph fanned the small fire into an inferno that burned out of control for nearly four days.

Either way, the Nuners are liable for the costs of fighting the fire because their negligence caused the blaze, the report stated.

They may be responsible for private property damage as well.

In addition to the lost homes, dozens of barns, sheds and other outbuildings were destroyed in the fire. More than 500 firefighters from throughout Washington fought the blaze.

The Nuners said their mower actually ignited two fires that day: one when Delbert Nuner tried to start the mower and another about an hour later when their son, Casey, was using it.

They told investigators they put out the first fire, but the second one got away from them, according to the DNR report.

Investigator Ken McNamee said in the report that he and other investigators found nothing to support the Nuners’ claim.

McNamee wrote he and DNR investigator Bill Fisher “did not find evidence of any recent grass clippings or tire tracks from the lawn mower in the vicinity of the origin area.”

In addition, “Delbert said he tried to start the mower and it backfired,” McNamee wrote. “Since the mower had not been running before it backfired, it could not produce any hot particles because no heat had been generated.”

All evidence pointed to the burn barrel, which the Nuners admitted to using earlier that day, McNamee added.

, DataTimes