Fire in Pine Hill that prompted evacuations ‘under control’

A wind-driven fire that prompted immediate evacuations and threatened more than 12 structures in the Pine Hill area was “under control” as of Saturday evening, according to local fire officials.

“We can say it is looking really good at this point,” the Stevens County Fire District No.1 wrote on its Facebook page about 7 p.m. Saturday.

The fire also shrunk to 30 to 40 acres, the department said. This was down from 50 acres, as reported by the Stevens County Emergency Management on its social media Saturday afternoon.

Crews used aerial craft and helicopters to contain the fire as it burned uphill around 4 p.m. Saturday on Corkscrew Highway south of the McLellan Conservation Area.

The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office and Stevens County Fire Protection District 1 issued an audio alert to the area that told people to leave immediately.

On their Facebook page, Stevens County deputies said drones were interfering with fire operations and that all boaters needed to get off the Spokane River.