The arsonist that lit up the South Hill bluff brings wildfire worries close to home

Laura Ackerman walked along the South Hill bluff on Tuesday trying to get a sense of Sunday’s spot fires that rattled residents and firefighters who have worried for years about the danger of a wildfire there.

Many people have believed they were safe from such fires within the confines of the city. But fires, sometimes accidental and sometimes ignited by an arsonist, are increasingly devouring neighborhoods.

“It’s getting to be the point where everyone in the county has concern or experience with wildfire, or wildfire smoke. Even if the fire isn’t close, (smoke) is difficult to live with,” said Ackerman, the president of Friends of the Bluff.

Fire and police investigators believe the 11 fires along a trail just below High Drive were set by an arsonist.

The fires lit up the Bluff around 9:43 p.m. Sunday and could be seen from Highway 195. Spokane Fire Department spokesperson Justin de Ruyter said crews from Station 9 responded within seven minutes and extinguished the fires before they spread along the hillside thick with ponderosa pine trees.

Drones were launched to search the area but didn’t find a suspect .

De Ruyter noted that the despite the warm temperatures, there was little wind to drive the fires. Much of the bluff faces south and west in the path of most weather patterns pushing into Spokane. No homes were considered threatened, he said, and the fire was under control within minutes.

But the outcome could have been different on a windy day in the midst of a hot, dry summer.

When trees go up in flames and burning branches are carried by high winds, de Ruyter said, embers can land on rooftops a half mile away and enable a fire to jump.

“There’s not an area in the city that is immune from being affected by this. The fire could even be on the other side of the river, but the embers can still reach us,” he said. “People need to start thinking about their go-bags and evacuation routes – 89 square miles burned in California, and the city of Spokane is at 62.”

Fires are becoming more frequent, more intense and growing faster, according to a 35-year study conducted by NASA.

Nighttime temperatures are getting warmer and droughts are getting more persistent, contributing to fire longevity and intensity. The NASA researchers found that parts of the western United States, along with three other countries, face wildfire seasons more than a month longer than they were 35 years ago.

“I’ve had a lot of fires close to my farm on the West Plains, but nothing significant,” Ackerman said as she pointed toward the highway from the bluff. “With the increase in hot weather, winds and climate change … If I were a South Hill resident close to the bluff, I would have concerns, too.”

In 2019, Friends of the Bluff became a “Firewise Community,” or a group that works with the Department of Natural Resources for thinning and pruning fire-prone areas. According to the group’s website, over 250 acres have been treated through the collaboration.

Last year, a survey from the group’s members listed fire mitigation on the bluff as “their top priority,” so the spot fires over the weekend are proving in real time how necessary that is, she said.

The area is around 600 acres and rises above a golf course near the highway. The city began working on dozens of acres above the golf course and in Hangman Park but nothing recent, said the city’s Wildland Resource Planner, Nick Jeffries.

“We probably have 600 more acres to treat, a big chunk of ground. That is going to be our primary focus for this fall and next spring. It hasn’t been done, and it’s at risk,” Jeffries said.

“If the bluff went up, it would be all the homes on the edge and all the homes within a mile of that are at risk from ember showers.”

Most of the fire mitigation also depends on the funding source, he said.

In the meantime, right before Spokane launches into another fire season – when it sees wildfires nearly every year – the fire department is encouraging people to start readying their properties for the threat and preparing to evacuate in case of a wildfire emergency.

“People need to go into alert mode,” de Ruyter said. “When people think about it, it could be too late.”

Anyone with information about the suspected arsonist is encouraged to call the Spokane Police Department.