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

Natural parks vulnerable to fires

Blaze near Q’emiln reminds officials of potential

POST FALLS – A weekend fire skirted Q’emiln Park, but Post Falls parks officials remain alert to the dangers that fires pose for the city’s natural parks.

Unlike ball fields and playgrounds, parks like Q’emiln, Black Bay, Corbin and Treaty Rock are particularly vulnerable to accidental and intentional fires. Filled with native trees and shrubs, these parks lack the highly watered lawns that protect more developed parks.

“We always worry about that,” said Post Falls Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair of the potential for fires to ignite and grow in scrubby parts of city parks. “We try to do what we can. We’ve done a lot of clearing over the last few years for fire reduction.”

That has to be done while keeping the parks as natural as possible.

“Obviously we’re not going to clear out all brush. It’s a balance,” Fair said.

Two separate Sunday fires about a mile uphill from Q’emiln Park burned a few acres. Fighting them was difficult because of the lack of access, said Gary Darrington, fire warden for the Idaho Department of Lands Mica District.

Firefighters couldn’t completely extinguish them until Monday.

Though Q’emiln Park was never in immediate danger, many Post Falls residents spotting the smoke feared the worst, calling in to report the fire.

The cause of Sunday’s fire is still under investigation, but most park fires are caused by fireworks or are deliberately set, Fair said.

“We’ve been lucky that they haven’t been worse,” he said. “But the potential is always there.”

Amy Cannata can be reached at 765-7126, (509) 927-2179 or amyc@spokesman.com.