Rebuilding what was lost: Gray fire first-responders reflect during holiday season

The Gray fire destroyed 240 homes and burned thousands of acres in the Medical Lake area on Aug. 18. Hundreds of first responders rushed to the area to evacuate residents and fight the blaze.

Now months later, the town of Medical Lake is beginning to rebuild what was lost.

Spokane County Fire District 3 Firefighter Aaron Porter

Porter, 34, has been with the fire district since 2007 when he joined as a volunteer while still in high school. He remembers the “seamless” way first responders worked together on the day of the Gray fire.

“It was a fire like no other I’ve ever done,” Porter said.

American Medical Response EMT

Erica Norris

Norris, 33, has been an EMT for a few months. She remembers her many trips to the emergency shelter in the weeks following the fire to help people with respiratory issues or sometimes just with transportation, having lost their cars in the blaze.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Lorenz Mina

Mina, 31, has been a Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy for seven years. He was assigned to patrol the Medical Lake area the day of the fire and remembers rushing to evacuate people.

He got stuck on Silver Lake and had to hop in a civilian boat to escape the flames leaving behind his patrol car.

Volunteer Firefighter Hans Johnson

Johnson, 34, has been a volunteer firefighter with Fire District 3 for the last five years.

He was one of the first people at the fire and remembers thinking almost immediately “there’s no way we’re going to keep up.”

Within a few minutes of arriving they got their first structure fire notice and the entire vibe of the crew shifted, realizing what they were up against, he said.

Volunteer Firefighter Marcus Lazzar

Lazzar, 49, has been a volunteer fire fighter for 21 years.

He remembers going house to house trying to prevent them from igniting.

At one house, in the minutes it took to deploy hoses, nearly half the house had become engulfed in flames.

“It was just crazy,” Lazzar said.

Volunteer Firefighter Charles Johnson

Johnson, 21, has been a volunteer firefighter for two years.

He was late to the fire responding from his full-time job.

He worked to prevent houses from igniting, but still has a resounding feeling of not being able to do enough.

Medical Lake Mayor

Terri Cooper

Cooper, 62, was on her way back from work in Cheney when she saw a plume of smoke.

She immediately went to the makeshift command center and worked around the clock for the next few weeks.

She was in awe of how many people responded to help the Medical Lake Community.

“It was comforting,” Cooper said.

Emma Epperly can be reached at (509) 459-5122 or at emmae@spokesman.com.