Preventing Future Fires

Nothing spoils a summer afternoon like looking up at the sky and seeing a haze of smoke. If the wind is blowing, you know intuitively that somewhere in the area, a fire is burning. People, homes, livestock might be threatened.

Fire season is upon us. A week ago, firefighters near the town of Mica battled a series of brush fires that briefly threatened some homes. Luckily, the fires were put out. No one was hurt. No homes destroyed.

Union Pacific railroad took responsibility for the fires that burned more than 20 acres near the intersection of Highway 27 and Dishman-Mica Road. Sparks from a train ignited brush near the tracks. It was the fourth brush fire caused by trains in the area since 1996. This area is obviously a “hot spot.”

It is time for the railroads, fire officials and the Washington Department of Natural Resources to get together and look for solutions to this annual problem.

They have talked in the past, but they should get together again and work out creative solutions to this problem. A railroad spokesman said the locomotive that sparked the most recent fire was not in good working order. Fixing the “spark arrestors” in locomotives is one way to prevent fires.

Talking now about preventing fires caused by train sparks may prevent the loss of lives and millions of dollars in settlements that could occur if Mica area fires ever do rage out of control.