SPOKANE, Wash. — A third-alarm fire burning south of Thorpe Highway was caused by an unattended camp, according to Spokane Fire Department Chief Brian Schaeffer.
Schaeffer was confident the containment lines around the fire would hold Sunday afternoon, though he noted the incredible strain such “preventable” fires put on fire crews as they battle other devastating fires.
“It’s ridiculous, we shouldn’t have to deal with fires that are preventable in this kind of condition,” Schaeffer said. “Our community locally is completely stretched thin. Our people across all disciplines, DNR, volunteer, career, that doesn’t matter when there’s so much fire on the ground… they’re exhausted.”
While containment lines were shored up, Level 2 (Get Set) evacuations remained in place south of Thorpe Road.
The smoky skies caused by the Gray Fire in Medical Lake prevented planes from helping to fight the fire. The Thorpe fire, Oregon Road Fire in Elk, fires also pulled in resources that had been on fires burning in Oregon.
“We’ve got resources coming off of one fire in Oregon, and they’re already going directly to this fire and the Oregon fire and going over to Medical Lake,” Schaeffer said.
