Fire early Saturday morning razes a shop north of Airway Heights

An early morning fire leveled a shop Saturday on the West Plains north of Airway Heights.

There were no reported injuries in the blaze, which was reported at about 6:45 a.m. by a neighbor in the 19400 block of W. Bowie Road, said Nick Scharff, chief of Spokane County Fire District 10. Crews from the district, which serves the West Plains, were assisted by firefighters from Airway Heights and a water truck from Fairchild Air Force Base, who were able to extinguish the flames before they spread but couldn’t save the shop.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources was also on scene in case the fire spread to the surrounding vegetation, Scharff said. He reminded residents that recreational burning is still prohibited in Spokane County.

“The days are getting shorter, but the fuels are just as dry as they were last week,” Scharff said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.