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Stevens County declares disaster |
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Wednesday, 16 July 2008 |
900-acres burned on Stevens and Ferry counties’ border
BY SOPHIA ALDOUS
S-E Staff Reporter
The view up north from Barney’s Junction last Friday was one blanketed by smoke as crews from the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Natural Resources and local firefighters fought fires that burnted900-acres on the border of Stevens and Ferry Coun¬ties.
Downed trees and power lines from last Thursday’s windstorm that created winds in excess of 50-miles-per-hour sparked 30 to 40 fires and consumed five buildings, in¬cluding two in the Barstow area.
Approximately 28 families were evacuated from the area because of the blaze and a stretch of Highway 395 from the Co¬lumbia River to Barstow north of Kettle Falls was closed Thursday evening before being re-opened Friday morning.
The Washington State De¬partment of Transportation reopened that part of the highway around 8:30 a.m. on Friday.
No injuries were re¬ported, though many resi¬dences in the area lost electri¬cal power.
The Barstow fire also sparked a secondary fire of about 40 acres. About 60 fire¬fighters battled the fire early Friday, and were joined by other fire personnel later in the day.
At 9 p.m. Thursday, Ste¬vens County Commissioners, along with the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office declared a dis¬aster. State officials added Stevens County to a disaster declaration Friday, with Gov¬ernor Christine Gregoire de¬claring a state of emergency in Spokane, Ferry and Stevens counties.
“This was a forecasted wind event that swept over this whole region,” said Stevens County Commissioner Merril Ott. “Due to those high winds, power lines were damaged by falling trees, causing sparks to light up dry vegetation and drift across the river, starting fires there.
Ott said that the commis¬sioners and Sheriff’s office acted in accordance with Ste¬vens County’s emergency plans.
’Firefighters…deserve our thanks’
The American Red Cross In¬land Northwest chapter set up a shelter at Kettle Falls High School last Thurs¬day evening, and then closed the site at 3 p.m. on Friday.
According to a press release from Colville National Forest, as of Friday afternoon, a fire near Kamloops campground and Twin Bridges consumed 150 acres. A fire near Whis¬pering Pines campground burned 50 acres, and a fire in the Doyle Creek area near Barstow took another 100acres.
Rick Anderson, Emergency Management Coordinator for the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, said that Stevens County dispatchers took an estimated 164 calls Thursday night, compared with the 50 to 100 calls that usually come into the dispatch center.
Carolyn Speare, who lives in the Barstow area with her husband, expressed gratitude that their home had been spared by the fire.
“It came right up to our property line, then just kind of petered out and avoided us,” said Speare, who called her husband back from a fishing trip on the coast when the fires began. “We don’t have any power right now, but we’re very fortunate that that’s all we don’t have. I can’t say enough nice things about all the fire crews that are out here. They work so hard to try and keep us safe. They de¬serve our thanks.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 July 2008 )
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