At last report at least 13 homes had burned in the Cayuse Mountain Fire burning in Stevens County. One of those homes had been in a volunteer firefighter’s family for more than 40 years. The family thought it was in the clear, but then the flames returned.
“Everything around it was burning, but the house wasn’t on fire. We thought it was good,” Keyland Brown said.
So the 21-year-old volunteer firefighter rushed to his neighbors.
“I left and went and helped an officer who lives just up the road. Helped him keep his house okay.”
But winds rapidly changed, putting his family home back in the path of destruction.
“It’s rough… I’m a little heartbroken,” Brown said. “I’ve lived here from when I was a little kid to 18.”
The ache of loss worsened as Brown tried to find anything spared.
“Rubble. Gone. Nothing left of it.”
Antique guns, his grandfather’s beloved truck, money in a safe. All gone.
Miraculously some of their stuff did make it. A boat and a shed remained untouched by flames on the property. Insurance workers were on the scene Tuesday working with the family.