There have been more than 900 fires in Washington so far this year. Some in Spokane have been in the Urban Wildfire Interface. These are homes that are close or in areas with trees and brush.
With the dry conditions, it increases the chances of a fire happening. On Wednesday afternoon, this exact scenario happened in Liberty Park.
“We’re all on high alert,” said Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. “The fire moved rapidly to the east, endangering a number of homes on the bluff.”
The fire started around 1:30 p.m. A homeowner said they heard a large pop and immediately saw the fire.
“So in this case, heavy very, very, very dense brush — it creates a lot of BTUs or British Thermal Units of energy and that energy helps propel a fire,” Schaeffer explained. Eight families had to evacuate in a matter of minutes as the fire inched closer.