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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fire danger rising despite wet weather

Thomas Clouse Staff writer

On a cloudy Friday with spitting rain, the state Department of Natural Resources updated the fire danger from low to moderate for Spokane, Lincoln and the southern portions of Stevens counties.

Wet conditions have been a boon for area grasses. However, once dry, those grasses will provide dangerous fuel for wildfires, officials said.

“A lot of the cheat grass is curing,” said Lynn Kenworth, dispatch supervisor for DNR’s Northeast Region. “The grass has reached its lifecycle. It’s still dying no matter how much rain we have. It will be ready to burn once the rain stops.”

Firefighters got a first glimpse of that Thursday night at a barn fire at 5605 Corkscrew Canyon Road in Stevens County.

Crews responded at 9:53 p.m. to a report of a barn on fire, said Lt. Russell Armstrong of Stevens County Fire District 1. The homeowners “reported they were hearing explosions,” Armstrong said. “They had medical oxygen cylinders in the barn.”

When firefighters arrived, the barn was engulfed in flames. The fire then spread to two smaller outbuildings. “They did structural protection to the house. The barn was fairly close,” he said.

Armstrong said he received no reports of injuries to animals. The residents apparently used the barn only for storage. None of the eight fire units or 22 firefighters was injured, he said.

“Then at about 1:30 or 1:45 a.m., they got called back,” Russell said. “The people said they looked out and saw a couple spot fires in the woods. Luckily it was at night and it was wet so the fires didn’t get far.”

Fire crews don’t expect to remain lucky for long, said Matt Castle, fire control unit forester for DNR’s Arcadia District, which includes Spokane. He said the fire danger was raised from low to moderate for a couple of different reasons.

“It’s that time of year when we normally would be starting to dry out quite a bit more,” Castle said. “Usually we are in a moderate fire danger by the end of May.”

The moderate rating will prevent loggers and others who have burn permits in rural areas from burning large slash piles. Other residents have burn permits that allow them to burn during a moderate fire danger rating, but they must keep the fires small, Castle said.

“Large piles burn longer and have more potential for escape,” he said.

Increasing the danger level also was done to raise public awareness that the fire season is almost here, Castle said. “We are going to be in a high fire danger before we know it.”