Long Lake fire kept in check by firefighters

The fire north of Long Lake Road was kept in check by firefighters Saturday after it grew rapidly Friday evening and put up a huge plume of smoke. The fire has been mapped at 430 acres, said Department of Natural Resources spokesman Guy Gifford. The goal Saturday was to keep the fire from growing and that goals appears to have been met, he said. “Everything went well today,” he said. “Everything so far has held.” Firefighters have a trail around the entire fire and it was considered 50 percent contained as of early Saturday evening. The Spokane River and several irrigated fields helped stop the fast moving fire on Friday. “We had several advantages,” Gifford said. Long Lake Road is back open, but people are urged to drive slowly.