Tuesday and Wednesday rains help lower fire threats, crews continue property assesments
From staff reports
Steady rain brought significant relief to fire conditions in the Inland Northwest on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Deer Park Airport received 1.42 inches of rain Tuesday night to Wednesday night, said National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Koch.
The Spokane International Airport measured nearly 0.3 inches of rain on Tuesday and a little under 0.2 inches Wednesday.
NWS meteorologist Valeria Thaler said areas north of Spokane, like Deer Park, tended to get more rain. But significant amounts fell in much of the region.
“It’s really beneficial for that Oregon Road fire,” Thayer said, noting the fire in northern Spokane County that started Aug. 18 and burned more than 10,800 acres and 126 homes.
Tuesday rainfall amounts reported by the weather service included 0.65 inches in Coeur d’Alene, 0.41 inches at Felts Field in Spokane, 0.44 inches in Liberty Lake, 1.4 inches in Nine Mile Falls, 0.8 inches in Sandpoint and 0.67 inches in Kettle Falls.
Spokane has received 0.74 inches of rain so far in August (not including Wednesday); that’s more than Spokane’s average total August rainfall, which is 0.47 inches.
But the area still is below average for the year. Spokane’s total rainfall so far this year (not including Wednesday) is 7.4 inches, well below the average for the period of about 10.1 inches.
As the rain fell, crews with the state, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross continued property assessments. The assessments will help make the case to the federal and state governments for recovery resources.
At a community meeting at Riverside High School Tuesday evening, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said at least one team had a confrontation with homeowners in the Oregon Road fire area.
“I will say that our experience in the first few days – they were not warmly welcomed. And in fact, there was an armed confrontation with one of our teams,” Nowels said. “Folks, we can’t do that. We cannot do that. They’re out here to help you all get the funding you need.”
Now the teams will be accompanied by Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies for everyone’s safety. The incident did not escalate into threats, Nowels said in an interview, so it is not under investigation.
“When you’re dealing with emotions as high as they are, I mean, these people have lost everything,” Nowels said. “It doesn’t surprise me that there are strong reactions to people being there.”
People often move to rural areas like Elk so they won’t be bothered, Nowels said, but in this instance it’s important not only for the homeowners, but for their neighbors, to allow the assessments.
Those assessments are the key to getting additional resources.
“It really takes away some of our justification for asking for the funds in the first place,” Nowels said of skipping assessments.
FEMA assessments should be complete by the end of the day Thursday. Red Cross representatives may be out conducting their own assessments for a few more days, he said.
The other massive fire that sparked Aug. 18 in Spokane County, the Gray fire, was 90% contained as of Wednesday, with about 450 people assigned to the fire area continuing mop-up. That fire destroyed 240 homes.
The Oregon Road fire was 79% contained as of Wednesday, with more than 455 people still assigned doing mop-up and patrol.
The Spokane County Disaster Assistance Center in the Spokane Falls Community College Building 9, 3305 W. Whistalks Way, remains open. People can access support from government agencies and nonprofits at the facility.
It’s important for everyone affected by the Gray and Oregon Road fires to register with the county’s emergency management at the center or online, said Simone Ramel-McKay with emergency management.
Officials want to hear from those who only lost electricity temporarily to those who lost everything, because emergency management needs to provide to federal officials an accurate picture of the numbers of people impacted, in hopes of getting additional aid.
“The more people encourage their neighbors to register and they get registered, the greater potential is that resources will open up,” Ramel-McKay said.