Firestorm 91

Twenty-four years ago wind-whipped wildfires took off and began to ravage several Eastern Washington counties.It took several days and multiple agencies to get nearly 100 fires contained in October 1991. By the end of what became known as “firestorm,” one person was dead and more than 100 homes had been burned to the ground.

Section:Gallery

Sun., Oct. 16, 2016

Gordon Maxwell dives over a fence as flames from Firestorm '91 rush towards him near Ponderosa in this award-winning photo by the late Kit King. Maxwell is a cook at a local restaurant.

Kit King Sr
An exhausted Adam Kremin rests for a few moments Thursday, Oct. 20, 1991, while fighting a flareup in the Ponderosa neighborhood.

Kit King Sr
Howling winds blew a power line into trees behind Helen Eller's Newman Lake home, and soon a nearby field was engulfed in flames. A firefighter directs his crew from Eller's driveway.

Steve Thompson The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
This is an October 1991 Firestorm picture of a house burning in Ponderosa.

File Sr
A Ponderosa area homeowner tries to save his house from the firestorm that swept through the Inland Northwest in October of 1991.

Kit King Sr
During Firestorm in 1991, Ron Connell's home in Ponderosa was destroyed by fire. A lone firefighter, realizing saving the burning house was futile, went in the front door, grabbed some family photos off the wall and laid them at the end of the walkway. "I can't save the house, this is all I can do," said the fireman.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Victims of Firestorm '91 received support from their friends and neighbors as they returned home to find ashes. Jenny Metta hugs Stephanie Hudson in the Ponderosa neighborhood.

Kit King Sr
The broken head of a Madonna and a set of spare dishes are neatly set on the home's foundation.

Anne C. Williams Sr
Bill Greene had plans Wednesday morning: "I was going to play golf today, but it was a little windy and I said, 'What the hell, I guess I'll stay home.'" He was glad he did. "If I'd gone golfing, I would have lost my home, too." Greene soaks his cedar shake roof as the house across the street burns.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo
Residents watch as firefighters evacuate Cirrus Drive near the Little Spokane River during the 1991 firestorm. The District 9 firefighters ran into a problem here because there weren't enough fire hydrants.

Shawn Jacobson The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo