Firefighters Contain Blaze Fed By Wind

About 100 firefighters battled a brush and timber fire Saturday that raged south of Charles Road in Seven Mile in northern Spokane County.

The blaze began just after noon and quickly engulfed 45 acres, fed by northerly winds. By 7 p.m., firefighters had completely contained the fire, said David Lobdell, assistant fire chief for the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

“Fighting the wind makes it very hard” to extinguish the fire, said Forrest Ownbey, forest warden for the Department of Natural Resources. “It pushes sparks and embers out in front of the fire, which starts more fires. And you can only get so close to the head” of the fire.

Crews and apparatus - including 21 engines, two bulldozers, two air tankers, two water tenders and one helicopter - from Spokane County fire districts 5 and 9, as well as the Department of Natural Resources, worked to contain the fire. Firefighters from the Department of Natural Resources planned to work through the night, Lobdell said.

No one was hurt by the fire, but two firefighters were injured by bee stings. One was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Lobdell said.

Also, three houses and a 15-acre alfalfa field were threatened, Lobdell said. No one was evacuated from those homes, he added.

Investigation into the cause of the fire started late Saturday night.