Cle Elum neighbors: 'What these firefighters risk is amazing'
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CLE ELUM, Wash. -- Firefighting crews are well past the halfway point on getting the upper-hand over the Taylor Bridge Fire. And Day 9 has been a big turning point.
Instead of losing any more homes Tuesday, firefighters actually made a lot of headway. The fire is now 90 percent contained.
The front lines of a wild-fire can be back-breaking work, and the first pass over a scorched area never proves to be enough.
"The stumps are what holds the heat the most, and so they are going to be digging up the stumps," said firefighter Steve DeCook.
A team atop Lookout Mountain is cleaning up a burnout area, which will stop the flames above from creeping down toward a neighborhood of homes.
"This way, we're burning that way up toward the fire, and it self-extinguishes," said firefighter Fermin Thomas Corona.
One crew we were with Tuesday was working a 14-hour shift with water hoses and hand tools to clear brush and build a barrier too wide for the fire to jump. They say it's the best way to save the houses below, and some neighbors put all their trust in them.
"Every time I think about it I just get chills," said Sharon Holtz. "What these guys risk is just amazing."
Holtz and her husband Chuck had already evacuated when flames burned within feet of their house. Firefighters stood guard until the last possible second to save it.
"The fire came down the hill and it was so hot that they just had to cut their hoses and run for their lives," Holtz said. "But on the way out our driveway, they spray-foamed our house."
No additional homes were lost Tuesday, but the fire has already destroyed 51 homes and 26 outbuildings. Another half dozen were damaged.
It's a bitter loss for the affected families, but potentially hundreds more homes could have met the same fate if not for the dedication of the front-line crews.
"To be able to save houses is awesome," Corona said. "Let's help them out the best way we can. That's what our job is, and we're trying to help out Cle Elum the best way we can."
Crews hope to have the Taylor Bridge Fire fully contained Tuesday night and then begin mopping up.
More crews called to wildfire on Yakama Reservation
Meanwhile, a state fire management team traveled to assume oversight of a lightning-sparked wildfire on the Yakama Indian Reservation Tuesday, as additional storms with lightning swept through parts of Eastern Washington.
At least 115 firefighters were already at the scene of the wildfire burning in a forest in the Diamond Butte area, about 15 miles northwest of White Swan on a closed area of the reservation.
The state team was responding to aid those efforts because the fire was burning toward timber in the Ahtanum State Forest, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bryan Flint said.
The fire, which was estimated at less than a square mile, was not threatening any structures.
Instead of losing any more homes Tuesday, firefighters actually made a lot of headway. The fire is now 90 percent contained.
The front lines of a wild-fire can be back-breaking work, and the first pass over a scorched area never proves to be enough.
"The stumps are what holds the heat the most, and so they are going to be digging up the stumps," said firefighter Steve DeCook.
A team atop Lookout Mountain is cleaning up a burnout area, which will stop the flames above from creeping down toward a neighborhood of homes.
"This way, we're burning that way up toward the fire, and it self-extinguishes," said firefighter Fermin Thomas Corona.
One crew we were with Tuesday was working a 14-hour shift with water hoses and hand tools to clear brush and build a barrier too wide for the fire to jump. They say it's the best way to save the houses below, and some neighbors put all their trust in them.
"Every time I think about it I just get chills," said Sharon Holtz. "What these guys risk is just amazing."
Holtz and her husband Chuck had already evacuated when flames burned within feet of their house. Firefighters stood guard until the last possible second to save it.
"The fire came down the hill and it was so hot that they just had to cut their hoses and run for their lives," Holtz said. "But on the way out our driveway, they spray-foamed our house."
No additional homes were lost Tuesday, but the fire has already destroyed 51 homes and 26 outbuildings. Another half dozen were damaged.
It's a bitter loss for the affected families, but potentially hundreds more homes could have met the same fate if not for the dedication of the front-line crews.
"To be able to save houses is awesome," Corona said. "Let's help them out the best way we can. That's what our job is, and we're trying to help out Cle Elum the best way we can."
Crews hope to have the Taylor Bridge Fire fully contained Tuesday night and then begin mopping up.
More crews called to wildfire on Yakama Reservation
Meanwhile, a state fire management team traveled to assume oversight of a lightning-sparked wildfire on the Yakama Indian Reservation Tuesday, as additional storms with lightning swept through parts of Eastern Washington.
At least 115 firefighters were already at the scene of the wildfire burning in a forest in the Diamond Butte area, about 15 miles northwest of White Swan on a closed area of the reservation.
The state team was responding to aid those efforts because the fire was burning toward timber in the Ahtanum State Forest, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bryan Flint said.
The fire, which was estimated at less than a square mile, was not threatening any structures.
