Homeowners Learning Fire Safety
Harriet Kovacich remembers the dark clouds rising from Ponderosa during the 1991 Firestorm.
The Painted Hills woman raced back to her home from an afternoon seminar to quickly pack mementoes and evacuate the pine-studded hills.
Lucky for her and her neighbors, their homes just east of Ponderosa were spared.
“It was a rather frightening situation,” Kovacich recalled.
But fire officials worry that homes like Kovacich’s - nestled in the pine and fir trees just off Dishman-Mica Road - might be in danger if another wildfire hits.
“We figure if there’s another fire it will come through there,” said Valley Fire District Inspector George Orr.
Now, as part of a county-wide education effort, Painted Hills residents are getting a free lesson on how to clean up fire hazards around their home.
Fire inspectors with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources, Valley Fire and Fire District 8 are visiting Painted Hills homeowners to let them know how to create a wall of defense around their home.
Things to go include shake roofs, dry junipers next to wooden siding, fir or pine trees drooping over eaves and dry pine needles on roofs.
The educational effort is being led by Firesafe Spokane, a nonprofit organization created last year. A series of class-action lawsuits filed against power companies after Firestorm were eventually settled and $300,000 of that went toward forming Firesafe Spokane.
Now, those living in Painted Hills and other rural neighborhoods are getting a free lesson on what to do to minimize the danger of losing their homes to wildfires.
More than 20 families in the Painted Hills area have requested an inspection, said executive director Ross Hesseltine.
“We’re trying to get the word out and let people know `Here’s what you do,”’ Hesseltine said.
Darlene Mazzeo, who has lived on Cree Drive for seven years, said her family moved in just after Firestorm.
When she heard about the effort, she and her husband, Tony, gladly accepted a free inspection. They were told to cut down a fir tree growing under their home’s eaves, remove some junipers and plant more hardwood trees around their home.
“We thought we would have to make thousands of dollars of changes,” she said. “It doesn’t seem to be as bad. Now we’re down to only about a hundred.”
Last week, the Mazzeos also replaced their shake roof, which would have gone up quickly if a spark landed on it.
“I love the idea that they decided to bring this education to us,” she said.”
This sidebar appeared with the story: DETAILS INFORMATION To learn more about Firesafe Spokane’s efforts or to request a free inspection of homes near forested areas, visit the Firesafe Spokane Web site at http://www.firesafespokane.com or call 464-1086.