Wild land fire claims estimated 2,000 acres

A massive fire put up quite the fight on Saturday, July 9, as Ritzville and surrounding communities united to battle the enormous flames. The fire believed to have started at a power pole and proceeded to sweep through Adams and Lincoln County, destroying nearly 2,000 acres of scabland and CRP grounds. While Adams County responds to multiple wild land fires each summer, Saturday’s blaze recorded as one of the largest in the county’s recent history.

Adams County Fire Protection District No. 1 Chief Scott Kembel said Ritzville received the call around 1:09 p.m. reporting a fire near 2221 East Arlt Road. While in route to the scene, Ritzville requested mutual aid due to the potential severity of the blaze. Due to the proximity of the fire to the Lincoln County line, crews were dispatched to assist Adams County.

In addition to Ritzville, Harder McCall, Lind, Sprague, Harrington, Odessa all responded to the call and rushed to help extinguish the blaze. In an effort to provide assistance, local farmers arrived at the scene providing their own trucks, water tankers and other equipment to help.

The generosity continued, as Scott Hennings and Larmer Farms were also there to help out with their personal plows to build a fire line.

Wind then blew the fire north through a ravine before spreading outwards. Due to the rocky terrain, crews had difficulty preventing the fire from spreading.

However, the crews were able to prevent the fire from reaching a wheat field neighboring the fire to the west.

About four hours after the fire started, crews received help from above by two Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planes and one helicopter. BLM provided assistance in the air along with 16 people on a ground crew when the fire moved from private property to BLM ground.

Even with a massive turn out of helping hands crews remained on scene battling the blaze for nearly eight hours. With the fire contained, leaders from the local fire departments and BLM met to discuss a plan of action for monitoring the area throughout the evening.

Ritzville and Sprague fire departments each had equipment and personnel on scene until BLM crews relieved them Sunday morning. The fire watch crew’s responsibilities throughout the night were to locate any flare-ups and eliminate the possibility of the fire breaking out again due to the expectation of high winds.

BLM then dedicated the next day to establishing a perimeter around the burnt area along with monitoring hot spots.

Luckily, no firefighters or local volunteers were injured during the fire. Kembel noted the cattle residing in the fields did not seem to be negatively affected or harmed because of the efforts of the local departments.

Kembel said he is very pleased about how the situation was handled and is thankful for all the help they received. Although the fire crossed the Lincoln County line relatively early, Kembel remained the incident commander because the fire initially began in Adams County.

Even though 2,000 acres were destroyed, Kembel said without the help of all those who responded, the devastation could have been much worse.

Kembel expressed his gratitude to all law enforcement, dispatchers and EMTs who assisted with the call. CF Industries provided an immediate water supply to ensure all crews could remain battling the blaze because of the constant water source. Les Schwab also provided crucial support by rushing to the scene to assist and replace a tire on one of the trucks.

Kembel said he is always impressed by the amount of support and generosity displayed by local residents. Their efforts an important contribution to ensuring the safety and health of firefighters as well as limiting the amount of destruction caused by fires.