Fish Lake Fire half contained

The Fish Lake Fire near Cheney is considered 50 percent contained today as firefighters worked overnight to dig a fire line around it. The fire did not grow overnight and remains at 145 acres, said Spokane Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer. The terrain in the area is challenging and there is poor road access to the fire, Schaeffer said. The fast growing fire was corralled Wednesday night with the help of dozens of firefighters, a tanker plane and three helicopters making water drops. The fire started near railroad tracks near Fish Lake and moved northwest. The fire largely burned between Cheney-Spokane Road and Scribner Road. Several homes in the area were threatened. Spokane County Fire District 3 is being assisted by the Department of Natural Resources and multiple other local fire departments. Firefighters will be mopping up today and getting the fire fully contained, said DNR spokesman Guy Gifford. “I think it’s going well,” he said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.