Small West Hills fire spurs evacuations

Firefighters and aircraft battled  an 8-acre  fire that started Thursday afternoon on the south side of Sunset Boulevard behind the Catalyst Project housing building before jumping the road to the north.

Aircraft dropped water and fire retardant, which helped suppress the blaze, said Justin de Ruyter, Spokane Fire Department public information officer.

“That’s been very effective, especially on this north side,” de Ruyter said.

The fire was reported shortly before 2 p.m. at 1405 S. Rustle St., de Ruyter said. 

The plume of smoke visible from downtown Spokane was mostly clear by early Thursday evening. Retardant dropped from aircraft could be seen on a portion of Sunset Boulevard and even on a Spokane police car driving by.

Police blocked Sunset Boulevard, causing major delays from downtown to the area of the fire. 

De Ruyter said fire crews stopped the fire’s forward progression. Firefighters stayed on scene overnight and will continue containing and mopping up the fire Friday. 

“Leave now” (Level 3) evacuations were issued for residents living in the area of Deska Drive to the west, A Street to the East, Interstate 90 to the south and the north end of Indian Canyon Golf Course to the north, according to the Spokane County Emergency Management Facebook page. 

Evacuation notices warning people to be ready to leave (Level 2) were in place for residents living on I-90 to the north, 21st Avenue to the south, Assembly Street to the west and Canyon Woods Lane to the east, the Facebook page said. 

The Level 3 evacuations were downgraded to Level 1 and the Level 2 evacuations were completely lifted by late Thursday afternoon.

Aaron and Terri Ridgdill’s duplex was one of the homes in the Level 3 area.

Aaron Ridgdill said he stood and watched the fire for hours. He said police knocked on doors warning residents of the threat and then returned to say the evacuations were downgraded.

He delivered cold water to firefighters down his street and said police and fire crews did a great job. 

He said his wife, Terri, gathered important belongings like jewelry, medicine and documents in case they decided to leave. Planes continuously dumped water on the blaze, which convinced him their residence would be OK.

“I’m glad we didn’t leave, but next time if it gets like that I’ll probably leave,” Aaron said.

De Ruyter said the cause of the fire was unknown, but he believed it was suspicious based on where it started.