Firefighters respond to fire near closed Shopko on South Hill
![Spokane Fire Department Aerial Truck 11 hits hot spots on a fire Friday near the old Shopko store on South Regal Street in Spokane. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/N4jl-c9Mg8Ee0d9aJBQDDnioTTA=/1200x800/smart/media.spokesman.com/photos/2020/07/31/5f24a64b7e8bf.hires.jpg)
A wildfire moving rapidly through a field and on the verge of causing major damage to a South Hill apartment was halted Friday afternoon by firefighters – and possibly an exploding hose.
Crews were called to a field just south of the former Shopko, 4515 S. Regal St., about 1:30 p.m.
Firefighters from Spokane County Fire District 8 arrived on scene first to the east of the blaze, but they couldn’t gain quick access to the fire because their path – along a closed portion of the rerouted Palouse Highway – was blocked by boulders, said Fire Capt. Jim Schaffer, of Spokane Fire Department’s Station No. 11.
Spokane firefighters accessed the fire first from the west.
But the wind turned quickly.
![Flames torch a tall pine as a wildfire near the South Hill Target gets into trees, Friday July 31, 2020. A new insurance program from Wildfire Defense Systems and State Farm will protect policy owners by allowing defensive teams into a fire area and defend against loss of property. (Christopher Anderson For The Spokesman-Review)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/OpiH0xHjTyRDrJgdu1UJgfLMSS8=/1200x0/media.spokesman.com/photos/2020/07/31/5f248f36e05b2.hires.jpg)
The fire damaged siding on a building at the Clare View North apartment complex, 3202 E. 44th Ave., and nearly overtook a firetruck, melting lights and welding a compartment on the truck shut.
“I had a vision of a big, black truck in my head,” Schaffer said. “I yelled for evacuation because I thought we would lose the building.”
The fire started in brush, but jumped into trees, which burned quickly and sparked embers.
Schaffer said heat caused a fire hose to explode, creating a fan of water that helped quell the flames. Crews were able to hold the fire to 3 acres. No injuries were reported.
Besides the Spokane Fire Department and District 8, Department of Natural Resources crews also helped on the scene.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.