Hope fire near Kettle Falls destroys at least two homes as firefighters work to save others

When the Hope fire showed up in the backyards of Northport Flat Creek Road residents Tuesday in northern Stevens County, the community immediately sprang into action.

“It spread very quickly and so it was basically just, probably in the first 30 minutes of getting over to where it initially started, it was all hands on deck just to try to get the neighbors alerted and ready to evacuate if they needed to,” Iris Gardner, 45, said. “We were hauling out trailers full of horses and anybody’s pets and animals as fast as we could.”

Officials say the fire, which was first reported Tuesday afternoon, has burned more than 5,600 acres. Although the official number of destroyed residential buildings was sitting at two on Friday afternoon, locals say they have multiple neighbors who have “lost everything.”

Allen Hubbard is one of those unfortunate neighbors. Hubbard, 67, was helping his girlfriend recover from brain surgery in Spokane when the fire started.

“I got the report that the fire was up there, but it was over 5 miles away, and I didn’t expect it to spread so far and so rapidly,” he said. “So we came back to her house, and we’re resting here, and I was watching photos on my game cams, and approximately 10 p.m. I started seeing fire coming over the ridge in the game cams.”

The fire razed five buildings on Hubbard’s property: a two-story apartment and shop, a pumphouse for a well and three storage rooms. Without fire insurance, he estimates that the loss has put him out $400,000 to $500,000.

“It’s a loss of a lot of family time and memories. We’ve owned the property since 1974, so approximately 51 years of family time and memories and a lot of friends,” Hubbard said. “It’s just, you know, going to be a big loss for not only me and my family, but others that enjoyed coming up and spending time.”

Hubbard has been unable to visit his property due to the evacuation orders. His neighbor, Sally Shaffer, also lost her property – a private saloon that was a favorite among visitors to the area, said Hailey Iniguez, manager of the nearby Bull Hill Guest Ranch.

“Every single guest who’s come to Bull Hill for 20 years had a beer at the saloon,” Iniguez said.

According to a GoFundMe created by Iniguez for Shaffer, the saloon was built in 2001 by Shaffer and her late husband, Steve. Steve Shaffer served as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, and the building was filled with military memorabilia, Iniguez said.

Shaffer could not be reached for comment Friday.

The Bull Hill Guest Ranch was untouched by the flames, but all guests and more than 80 horses and cows were displaced. Due to the preventive measures taken by firefighters in the area, however, Iniguez said that they could bring the animals back to the ranch.

“They’re working incredibly hard to save the ranch, and that’s why it’s such a safe space for our animals, because it’s so well dug in and they’re doing everything to save the building,” she said. “It’s been amazing. (The horses are), not to be crazy, but they’re my co-workers. I mean, I’ve worked with these animals for years.”

The horses aren’t the only ones staying in the evacuation zone, though.

Gardner said that she and her husband, Jason, are two of around 30 community members who have stuck around to fight the fire. When Gardner took a call from The Spokesman-Review Friday afternoon, she said there was an active fire on her property.

“There’s a number of homes out here that are uninsured that … they 100% would have burned if the locals hadn’t stayed to help protect them,” Gardner said.

The Gardners have opened a schoolhouse on their property to act as a community center for firefighters and those that stayed in the area. While Iris Gardner said morale is good, she also said that folks are exhausted.

“But here’s the thing, we have friends that are starting to come in to help us with shift changes, where the community members are catching a few hours of sleep while other people from right outside the zone are coming in to keep watch and help put out hot spots and stuff,” she said. “We catch a little bit of sleep and then start again.”

Gardner said anyone who wants to help the community should avoid driving into the evacuation zone to ensure that firefighters can make their way through the area. Instead, food donations can be dropped off at Small Batch Sourdough in Northport, 101 Center Ave.

While Iniguez said locals “just want to get back to normal,” she praised their determination.

“We’re still – every afternoon still, the winds pick up and the fire picks up and it’s just not over. People are still fighting for their homes,” Iniguez said. “There’s just a million little stories of people who are just doing amazing things.

Firefighting efforts

Officials have reduced their acreage estimate for the fire burning on the north side of the Columbia River between Kettle Falls and Northport as crews work to contain it.

Updated estimates for the Hope fire put the total at 5,634 acres Friday morning, down by nearly 1,000 acres from Thursday following improved mapping, Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 8 spokesperson Thomas Kyle-Milward said.

Thursday night, winds blew the fire up north where it progressed through a drainage, Kyle-Milward said. In the south, he said the fire has reached the Columbia River but has not jumped. The water has acted as a natural barrier.

A Friday morning news release put containment at 0%.

Two primary residences have been confirmed lost to the blaze, Kyle-Milward said. There are no total damage estimates.

Level 3 “leave now” evacuations remained in effect Friday for homes on or just off of Northport Flat Creek Road.

The complex management team took over fire suppression efforts at 6 a.m. Friday .

So far, 476 people have responded to the fire, along with multiple helicopters and air tankers, Kyle-Milward said, adding that more personnel would likely join the team throughout Friday.

Crews are working to open Northport Flat Creek Road and Lael Road for firefighter use, Kyle-Milward said. With warming and drying conditions expected to continue into the weekend, he said that crews will be keeping a close eye on the spread of the fire.

The cause remains under investigation.