Burning continues between Medical Lake and Cheney
MEDICAL LAKE — Through a blanket of heavy haze and smoke, a few residents were sifting through belongings, and checking their properties Saturday, Aug. 19, after the Gray Fire raced through the area.
Some areas of town have been left untouched such as Ruby's Resort, and the downtown area.
Southern Medical Lake was impacted in some areas, and other neighborhoods were spared.
Off state Highway 902, the neighborhood along Freeman Drive was left smoldering in large part, with several homes destroyed along the water.
Two residents of the neighborhood who did not lose their home, and wished to remain unnamed, were walking along Freeman Drive with tears streaming down their faces.
"We have one of six houses still standing in this neighborhood," one said. "It's so hard to see our friends' and neighbors' homes burned like this."
Kit Homesmith also lived on Freeman Drive.
As she stopped at her property, she said lost her home of 16 years along with some of her animals.
Homesmith said she was able to get her some animals out, but she had 13 chickens she wasn't able to evacuate. She didn't lose them all, as she went back to the house to check for them.
At least four wandered aimlessly through the fire debris.
"I just can't put it into words," Homesmith said. "I lost everything including my clothes, but losing some of the animals is unbearable."
"I will save as many as I can, but with nowhere to take them it is extremely difficult," she added as she set down some feed for one of her hens.
Residents Del Reiber and his wife lived on South Evergreen Drive, in an upscale neighborhood behind Hallett Elementary School.
They returned to pile up belongings that didn't burn.
Reiber said they had lived in the house for eight years, but have lived in Medical Lake since 1997.
According to Reiber, they were able to save themselves and their animals.
"We got the important stuff out," Reiber said. "The house can be rebuilt. But we did lose some things that are not replaceable."
"My wife lost a lot of her family heirlooms and things from her mother that she can't get back," he added.
Waterfront Park saw some significant damage, as well. Power poles had burnt in half, laying in the road in pieces.
Hallett Elementary saw some damage, according to Erik Keller, the public information officer for the state Department of Natural Resources.
The fire was still very active along Clear Lake Road during the afternoon Saturday. A home at 15321 S. Clear Lake Road was quickly consumed by fire after the porch flared up.
The homeowner frantically pulled into the driveway, but there was no way to stop the violent flames as they ripped through the structure.
With the fire advancing and changing directions due to the wind, Salnave Road was also closed, preventing passage from Medical Lake to Cheney.
As of 7 p.m. Saturday, reports showed the fire that started in the 12000 block of South Gray Road had burned between 8,000 and 9,500 acres.
At least one person was killed in the fire, officials said. Details of that fatality have yet to be released.
We will continue to provide updates as we learn more.
A social media hashtag, #grayfire, has been set up for those who access information via social media.
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
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