Evacuations lifted southwest of Cheney after 13-acre wildfire

Crews tackled a 13-acre fire southwest of Cheney on Thursday that spurred evacuations and drew in multiple engines and one aircraft.

At one point after the fire broke out Thursday morning, officials believed it was about 25 acres, said Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Ryan Rodruck.

Crews eventually downgraded it to 13 acres.

District 3 fire crews had stopped the fire’s progress by 4 p.m., said District 3 Fire Chief Cody Rohrbach.

Crews were still bulldozing a line around the fire to contain it, he said.

Two evacuations were in place by 1 p.m., said Julie Happy, a spokesperson for the Spokane Valley Fire Department whose crews were manning a helicopter at the fire.

The Level 1 notice affected about five households near the fire, Rohrbach said.

Level 1 evacuations mean residents should voluntarily leave or be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, he said.

“That’s the lowest threat level, really out of an abundance of caution at this point,” Rohrbach said. “But given the winds and spotting potential, we want to make sure we’re being cautious.”

District 3 Response Chief Tom Brunke said apparatuses were leaving by the evening, the area was safe and Level 1 evacuation notices were removed.