Fires erupt near Cheney

CHENEY - The Andrus Fire continued to burn Tuesday night, prompting evacuation notices to remain in effect north of the city and east of Four Lakes.

The cause of that blaze - the largest and most recent of three in the area since Friday - remains under investigation, Spokane County Fire District No. 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach said, noting there hasn't been any injuries or home losses.

The other fires were reported on Phillips Road, south of Cheney, and near the intersection of Sixth Street and Simpson Parkway.

As of press time, the Andrus Fire was estimated at 300 acres and growing; it was not contained, Washington State Patrol spokesman Jeff Sevigney said.

The blaze began about 11:30 a.m. in dry grass and timber near Andrus Road. It raced up Needham Hill and threatened Cheney School District offices and Three Springs High School, 12414 S. Andrus Road.

Fire District No. 3 crews raced to the scene after having just left a 9:57 a.m. fire that destroyed a barn, pickup and horse trailer at 27225 S. Phillips Road.

The cause of that fire remains under investigation, Rohrbach said.

The larger Andrus Fire moved into dry timber and trees started crowning along the hillside.

As a result, Rohrbach requested local and state assistance. Meanwhile, the fire command was established at Three Springs.

Local crews doused the top of the hillside, keeping the flames from reaching the school.

Fire crews from county Fire District Nos. 4, 8, 9, and 10 responded, as did city crews from Airway Heights, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Lincoln County and the state Department of Natural Resources.

Several aerial units were dispatched, too, including at least five Fire Boss fixed-wing aircraft, two spotter planes, two medium fire bombers, one heavy retardant bomber and three helitacks.

Evacuation notices were issued.

At press time, the Soda Road, Taylor Road and Melville Road areas near the base of the hill were still under a Level 3 notice. Level 2 notices were issued for properties north and east of those areas.

Evacuation isn't mandatory in Washington state, so the state issues Level 1 notices when a fire is nearby, Level 2 if its moving toward specific properties and Level 3 if its imminent.

Level 1 notices were issued for other nearby properties.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter for fire victims at Medical Lake High School. And the Cheney Rodeo Association, opened up its arena and grounds to take in evacuated farm animals.

In total, more than 150 personnel have been assigned to the fire.

Northeast Washington Interagency Type 3 IMT Team 2 assumed command of the fire at 10 p.m. Monday night.

Earlier in the day, a total of 19 vehicles were dispatched to 27225 S. Phillips Road for a fire on the other side of the city.

"We had good teamwork on that," Rohrbach said, noting the fire was quickly contained to the area adjacent to the barn, but not before it destroyed a pickup and horse trailer.

Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing from that blaze from as far away as Airway Heights.

Neighbors spotted the blaze first. Some drove to an area to acquire cellphone service to call for help, others raced to the fire.

Eric Marrazzo and his brother-in-law Randy Knight were among the first neighbors to arrive.

"The shop was up in flames," Marrazzo said of the scene when he arrived.

"The barn all burned down," Knight added, noting nearby trees were also afire.

Loud explosions echoed from the scene.

And at one point, the fire got really noisy.

"There was a lot of fireworks inside burning up, or ammo," Knight added.

Rohrbach said that blaze was contained to less than a half-acre.

The third fire in the area ignited July 1 at the intersection of North Sixth Street and Simpson Parkway.

Reporter Riley Kankelberg contributed to this report.

Roger Harnack can be reached at [email protected].