Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
A strong air attack was utilized to counter the Seven Bays fire that broke out near Miles-Creston Road Sunday, Sept. 4.
SEVEN BAYS-A lot of brush and trees have charred, but no structures have burned in the Seven Bays Fire that broke out around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4.
News began to spread of a fast-moving fire near Miles-Creston Road soon thereafter. The fire began just northeast of Hawk Creek Campground, which was evacuated. It began to move northeast up a canyon and has burned over 1,000 acres of rangeland, stubble and forest land, according to a press release from the Department of Natural Resources.
Level 3 evacuations were ordered for residents in the areas of Mule Ranch Road, Reinbold Road and east of Miles-Creston Road. Level 2 evacuations were ordered for nearby areas east of Highway 25 with some never-realized concern that the fire could jump the highway.
Those three roads closed until Wednesday morning, and evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday evening.
Incident command was set up in Seven Bays quickly Sunday as a cavalcade of air attackers dipped into Lake Roosevelt and dropped fire retardant into the flames, which helped prevent spread, Fire District No. 5 Commissioner Mike Piper said.
The air response was the largest seen in Lincoln County since the Whitney Road Fire, DNR said.
Crews from Lincoln County Fire Districts 5, 4, 7 and 1 responded to the scene, while the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Washington State Patrol and Spokane Tribal Police provided assistance with road closures and directing confused traffic.
Responders continued mopping up around the fire perimeter as of press time Wednesday, when the fire was 15% contained. Firefighters were forced to fell hazardous trees on Miles-Creston Road, according to the DNR press release.
A fire cause hadn't been discovered by press time.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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