UPDATED: 3:20 pm
While hundreds of firefighters spent their third day trying to corral and douse two Spokane County wildfires, Governor Jay Inslee and Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz were receiving briefings from local officials and consoling people driven from their homes by the fires.
In separate visits, Inslee and Franz met with local fire district and disaster relief officials. Inslee toured the state's Lakeland Village and Eastern State Hospital facilities in Medical Lake. Then he stopped at the fire evacuation center operated by the American Red Cross at Spokane Falls Community College and mingled with young families, older residents and others driven from their. homes.
During a makeshift press conference at the college, Inslee praised local first responders for moving more than 100 patients out of harms' way in Medical Lake on Friday afternoon.
"Several dozen of the Lakeland people, many of whom were in wheelchairs, had been evacuated to another center, away from their residence," he said. "A fellow there, even though they'd been evacuated already, recognized that the fire was coming for them at the place they had been evacuated to. He made a snap judgment to do another secondary evacuation and organized a rescue of dozens of people, some of whom they pushed across a field in wheelchairs to get them to another location so they weren't consumed by the fire."
Fire official 'cautiously optimistic'
Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach said crews were able to stop the fire's advance on the north and west sides on Saturday. He says the most active parts of the fire are the south and east sides. He estimated the fire is about 10% contained. Additional mapping of the fire shows the flames have charred about 10,200 acres, slightly smaller than earlier estimates.
In the case of the Gray fire, "Spread was pretty moderate and mostly to the southwest. Does not appear there will be more fire growth toward Medical Lake or Four Lakes. Still a lot of hazards within the burned areas. Natural gas lines venting off, trees coming down, etc.," according to a DNR tweet.
Level 3 evacuations continue in Medical Lake and surrounding communities. Sheriff John Nowels again asked residents who have been displaced not to go back to their homes because law enforcement officials then feel obligated to follow them and ensure their safety.
Avista is replacing downed lines and power poles to restore power. Crews are working to replace downed trees that have fallen onto I-90.
Interstate 90 remains closed between mileposts 245 and 277. Fire continues to burn alongside the road. SR902 & part of SR904 remain closed as well.
Oregon Road fire
In north Spokane County, Level 3 evacuations are still in place for areas east and southeast of Elk for people near the Oregon Road fire. A DNR spokesman says the fire remains especially active in those areas. An evacuation center remains open at Riverside High School.
DNR says fire crews have been successful at stopping the fire's progress at the north and west ends of the fire. The smoke thrown up by the fire has stopped aircraft from dropping water. A spokesman says crews will continue to work to protect homes and other structures and strengthen their fire lines.
The air quality, as measured by the Spokane County Clean Air Agency, improved Sunday afternoon from hazardous to unhealthy.
Officials begin thinking about recovery
While local and state officials say the main emphasis remains to contain and extinguish the fire, Inslee said the state will work with local officials to make a case for a federal disaster declaration to bring money to the area to begin the cleanup and rebuilding processes.
He says it's too early to begin assessing damages, but as soon as it becomes safe, he says state officials will begin collecting data for a portfolio to send to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He says the state could ask for funds to replace or repair public assets or to help homeowners who had no insurance on their homes.
"This is going to be hard on these people. I don't want to sugarcoat this," he said. "These families are going to have some hard days ahead. If there's any way we can lend a hand to our neighbors here, even emotional assistance, is really important to people right now."
It will be a slow and laborious process, he says, with no assurance that it will be successful.
