Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Whitman County Fire District 7 tasked with investigating smoke source
A 'super scooper' plane douses the Miller Road Fire with hundreds of gallons drawn directly from Rock Lake.
The Hole in the Ground Fire's isolated location made access via vehicle difficult.
EWAN - Volunteer firefighters from across the county were pitted against two wildfires this past week, successfully extinguishing both with the help of state fire services.
On Thursday, Aug. 11, volunteers from Rosalia's Whitman County Fire District 7 were tasked with investigating the source of smoke coming from the Hole in the Ground area north of Rock Lake.
At around 2:15 in the afternoon, responders located a growing fire burning in timbered rocky terrain, which Rosalia Fire Chief Laura Lautenslager says made access difficult.
"Quite a few of the areas were only accessible by pasture or old logging roads," said Rosalia Fire Chief Laura Lautenslager.
Washington Department of Natural Resource crews managing a nearby fire in Spokane County noticed the smoke and arrived at the blaze shortly after.
The DNR team provided ground and air assistance to the volunteers with hand crews and two firefighting single engine airtanker airplanes in the sky.
The two forces successfully contained the blaze to an area of 3 acres.
"We were very lucky that they were in the area, if they hadn't been there it would have taken us twice as long to contain," noted Lautenslager.
Firefighters from districts in Oakesdale and St. John were also mobilized to put out the burn, which was extinguished by nightfall Thursday evening.
A second fire appeared in the Rock Lake area the following afternoon on Friday, Aug. 12.
The wildland fire was estimated to have begun around 1:00 p.m. near Miller Road north of Ewan.
Volunteer firefighters from St. John initially responded to the burn, but volunteers in Lamont, Steptoe, and Rosalia were later called to the scene by a mutual aid request.
Driven by the wind, the fire spread through timber, prompting Whitman County Fire District 2 Chief Steve Gibson to request state fire assistance.
State fire assistance requests outline what resources local firefighters need from the state to combat the fire, said Whitman County's Director of Emergency Management Bill Tensefeld.
These requests are called for "Anytime local resources are overwhelmed and you have expended local assets," said Tensefeld.
Gibson's request was granted, and two 'super scooper' planes responded to battle the fire from above.
"They just dipped out of Rock Lake and dumped it on the timber," explained Tensefeld, "that was just the right tool for the job that day."
These larger planes are not typically deployed in Whitman County, but environmental conditions posed a unique challenge to local crews.
Embers and sparks from the fire were easily carried by the wind, a process called spotting, and the fire's proximity to trees made them easy fuel for igniting, or torching.
"Normally we don't get large aircraft on the fires around here, but because of the complexity of the Miller Road Fire it helped put out the torching and spotting," said Lautenslager.
While homes were reportedly threatened by the blaze, no evacuations were ordered.
County officials reported that by Friday night the fire had been extinguished, scorching a rough total of 200 acres.
Reid Thompson is an intern reporter at the Whitman County Gazette. Reid is enrolled at Syracuse University, where he studies journalism and international relations.
Reader Comments(0)