Fire command, camp take over middle school

CHENEY — With a fire comes the need for a command post and camp to house firefighters and their support crews.

For the Gray Fire, Northwest Incident Management Team No. 7, a Southeast Washington response team, set up operations at Cheney Middle School, 740 Betz Road, where it replaced state Department of Natural Resources managing the emergency.

The team will be moving later this week due to the back-to-school timetable.

Spokeswoman Heather Gibsen said Monday, Aug. 21, that the team is charged with managing the daily logistics in coordinating a fire response.

“Feeding, bathing, sleeping accommodations, duty shift management, organizing officers and operational plans and everything else that comes with supporting the firefighters on the ground,” Gibsen said.

At press time, Team No. 7 was coordinating between 350-415 response personnel and support staff.

“The numbers and types of resources we need and use on a daily basis will shift from day to day based on many factors,” Gibson said. “So, the personnel and equipment we are able to use today may be redirected to another incident tomorrow.”

The command center and camp are self-sufficient.

And Gibsen said that although the sentiment is appreciated, Incident Command does not have the resources to receive and distribute donations of any kind.

“We can’t accept food or clothing, not only because our actual teams won’t be utilizing it, but because we won’t be distributing it to the greater community,” Gibsen said.

She also pointed out that the affected area of the Gray Fire fluctuates with the increase in measurement-accuracy.

At press time, officials said the fire had burned more than 10,000 acres.

But that number may move up or down with more accurate infrared aerial measurments.

“Also, when you see a map of the fire coverage, that doesn’t mean that everything in that area has been completely destroyed, or even burned,” Gibsen said.

Infrared-generated maps show areas that are “hotter” than other areas, giving fire crews an idea of where to position crews.