Healthy Fear Of Fire Kindled Homeowners’ Precautions Long Before Blaze, They Cleared Debris - But In The End Thanked Firefighters

Bob and Mary Dunn spent four months admiring the stunning view of Spokane from their living room on the rim of Indian Canyon.

On Thursday they watched, horrified, as Riverside State Park exploded in flames 50 feet beneath their perch.

“We were surrounded,” Mary Dunn said Friday as she stood at the cliff’s edge above the burned-over valley still smoking with the remnants of the Newkirk Road fire.

“With the wind and everything, there was nothing they could do to contain (the fire).”

She stepped outside into the hazy sunlight Friday to another astounding sight: Their modern, two-story home at 5816 Indian Bluff Road was unscathed.

Teams of firefighters fought throughout the night to protect the Dunns, attacking flames and cutting fire lines around the home.

But the forethought the couple put into building their $500,000 home helped it withstand the blaze.

It was that kind of planning, firefighters said, that contributed to saving the two dozen homes threatened by the 600-acre fire. Residents knew the risks of living in a forested area and took precautions.

The Dunns, who own the only house in the new Ridgeview Park Estates, designed their home specifically with fire in mind.

“We knew the potential and took that all into account,” Mary Dunn said. The couple put on a tile roof and a flame-retardant coating on the exterior walls.

They are now rethinking their plans to landscape the lot, which was supposed to start this week.

“Now we’re going to cut back on the amount of trees we’ll put near the house, if any,” Mary Dunn said.

That’s the best plan, firefighters said.

“It’s important that people clear around a dwelling, get the pine needles and underbrush out, keep the lawn green,” said Spokane Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries. “They need to get it to where fire can’t crawl up a tree and get to the house.”

That’s exactly what many of those residents did.

“We’ve been thinking about (fire) since the day we moved in,” said Peggy Springer, who lives at 4206 N. Indian Bluff Road. “I think it’s always on our minds.”

The Springers joined three neighbors in laying fire hose through their living rooms Thursday, pumping water from their pool to douse flames reaching too close.

Their summer was spent clearing ice storm debris and broken trees from their property, making it less susceptible to fire.

They also had water pumps for wells dug, in part, as fire protection by developer Randy Fosseen.

The area has a 70,0000-gallon reservoir, and firefighters can hook in and fill their trucks. Fosseen said he worked with the fire department in designing a fire-safe subdivision.

“We’ve done everything that could be done,” he said.

Vince Lies, who lives on nearby Dowdy Road, spent Thursday armed with a shovel and a chain saw, hacking down anything that could burn near the greenbelt he developed around his home.

“You just go to work,” he said. “Knock it out.”

Rand Young and Erin Cannon, who live on North Spotted Road, were grateful they spent the summer clearing their property of ice storm slash and overgrown trees.

“That’s why we did it,” Young said. “Fear of fire.” Despite their precautions, Dunn and her neighbors were most thankful for the firefighters who stood between them and the flames.

“They were determined that this house was going to be saved,” Mary Dunn said. “And they did it.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: The firefighters’ ideal landscape