Inslee discusses Gray Fire

SPOKANE – One day after declaring a state of emergency in the state due to the wildfires burning, Governor Jay Inslee traveled to the area to discuss the issue.

The proclamation released on Aug. 19 says the state has experienced high temperatures mixed with very dry conditions.

The current fires are exhausting many available resources, and according to the document, these resources may not be adequate to deal with the current situation or any potential wildfire outbreaks in the coming months.

Following the proclamation, he visited several locations in the area. First, he went to see Lakeland Village, which was close to where the Gray Fire started.

Second, Inslee's team went to Spokane Falls Community College. The location of the evacuation center for people having to evacuate blazes in the area.

There, he gave a briefing on the state status and response to the situation.

"We have brought in more assets," Inslee said. "More air assets, more trucks, more personnel and I'm glad we've done that."

"But we have to recognize that we need to continue that effort, because the fact of the matter is there is a beast at our door."

Referencing climate change, he spoke of the many fires throughout the region and into Canada.

He said there are over 1,000 fires burning in Canada, and over 35,000 acres burning in the state of Washington.

"We have to bolster our assets, but we have to do something else," Inslee said. "We need to defend ourselves from climate change. We need to de-carbonize our economy, so these fires don't ravage us."

"There's not enough firetrucks in the world to protect us if we don't stop climate change," he added.

He brought the Chief of Spokane County Fire District 3, Cody Rohrback to give the most recent update on the status of the Gray Fire.

Rohrback said current estimates have the fire at approximately 10,200 acres but as new mapping is processed a change in acreage is anticipated.

Rohrbach said that the fire is still very active in spots, but the weather outlook should help.

"Some good news to report on the Gray Fire," Rohrbach said. "With the current weather conditions, the winds out of the northwest have helped us to secure the northern perimeter of that fire."

"Which is essentially the communities of Four Lakes going west to the community of Medical Lake, and other lake communities that lie within that general area," he added.

Rohrbach explained the favorable weather conditions helped fire crews get fire line cut in and mop up the remaining smoldering spots.

He also said the main concern is always resident safety, and after people are safe they work to minimize property damage.

He also explained why some of the air resources weren't being utilized.

"The smoky conditions remain challenging as well," Rohrbach said. "That limits the use of our aircraft."

"Simply they are not able to safely fly or see their targets," he added.

Rohrbach explained some air units were used on Aug. 19, but they were only able to work through half of a fuel cycle before being grounded due to conditions.

The fire chief said the fire is moving southwest, but as of noon Aug. 20 it was still several miles from the community of Tyler.

He also said crews have been able to gain ground and reported the fire at 10 percent contained.

"Gray Road Fire is reported at 10 percent containment," Rohrbach said. "And again, when we report containment on the fire, that does not just mean there is a fire line."

"Before we can call a fire contained, we have to go back in and mop up and take all of the heat away from that line so the wind can't blow a hot ember across that line," he added.

Chief Rohrbach said the crews dealt with hundreds of spot fires on Aug. 19 in which embers were blown over fire lines.

He said crews are "cautiously optimistic" about further containing the fire.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels also gave a brief update, and said state resources and beyond have been requested from the start.

He also said that it takes considerable time to get those resources allocated.

County Commissioner Al French said that firefighting efforts have become much more efficient in recent years, and he attributes a lot of the improvements to better modes and methods of communication.

"This community has significant investments through the years," French said. "Both in police and fire and this is the reason why."

"So, they have the resources to be able to keep us safe," he added.

Governor Inslee then announced the Washingtonian of the Day, a Lakeland Village employee.

He also said the state will be working with people in the recovery phase.

"Now we go into the recovery phase," Inslee said. "Everybody's going to be assessing the damages so we can make requests for assistance for them."

"There are multiple places we look for assistance, one of them being the federal government," he added.

Inslee said that process can take some time because of the assessments involved.

He also said the state does have some housing and cash assistance programs. He said regardless of assistance, the situation is just tough, especially for those directly affected.

"Look, this is going to be hard on these people," Inslee said. "I don't want to sugar coat this, these families are going to have some hard days ahead."

"The reason I say this is because if there is any way we can lend a hand to our neighbors here, it's really important right now," he added.

Author Bio

Matthew Stephens, Reporter

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.