Peaceful Valley Wildland Urban Interface Fire In City Of Spokane

Press release from the City of Spokane:

July 19, 2021

On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, at 9:50 AM, 9 Companies of Spokane Firefighters (4 Brush Engines, 5 Structural Engines, Safety Officer and Battalion Chief) responded to a Wildland Urban-Interface Fire in the 2500 Block of West Riverside.

Firefighters arrived to find a column of smoke and 1/4 acres of medium to heavy brush burning becoming ever closer to nearby homes and timber. Although the fire was initially slow-moving, SFD firefighters on brush engines and ground crews encountered erratic fire behavior. They were forced to use an indirect tactic to suppress the fire. Later arriving companies were strategically placed by the incident commander to stop the fire's forward progress and protect homes.

With relatively slow wind speeds being less than 20 mph, relative humidity of less than 20%, and the temperature expected to reach the upper 90's, firefighters were able to knock down the flames in less than 2 hours. Due to all firefighters' strong efforts, this fire was completely contained with no threats to civilians or any structures.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by SFD Fire Investigators.

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This press release was produced by the City of Spokane. The views expressed here are the author’s own.