SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — With multiple fires already breaking out across Spokane County over the last few days, fire officials are warning that an unusually early and potentially severe fire season has arrived.
On Tuesday, strong winds and dry grass created challenging firefighting conditions that Fire Chief Cody Rohrbach of Spokane County Fire District 3 said are more typical of mid-July, rather than June.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Brush fire near Cheney Spokane Road contained, investigation ongoing
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Firefighters respond to brush fire in Colbert near West Pinto Road
“We could see really challenging fires with high spread potential, difficulty to control and evacuations,” Rohrbach said. “So, all those things are in place. And this is about the earliest I’ve ever seen that in Spokane County.”
The early fire activity coincides with the National Weather Service’s introduction of a new alert system for Washington and northern Idaho designed to warn residents when conditions create extreme fire danger.
“It’s called a ‘PDS.’ It’s a ‘particularly dangerous situation,'” said Krista King, a National Weather Service forecaster. “And what that product is, is it’s actually just a way of kind of telling the public, ‘this is a day you need to watch out for.'”
The last time such an alert would have been issued was in 2023 when the Grey Fire and Oregon Road Fire started, King said.
With most fires in Spokane County caused by human activity, fire officials are emphasizing prevention measures residents can take to protect their communities. Rohrbach warned that even routine activities like lawn mowing can pose risks during dangerous fire weather.
“Any spark-emitting equipment, be really, really careful about, even lawnmowers,” Rohrbach said. “In the heat of the afternoon, on a windy day, just one rock and that could spark. So be thinking about those types of things.”
Fire officials say preparation is critical because fires this summer are inevitable. Rohrbach recommends creating defensible space around homes, starting with the area closest to structures.
“Really [it’s about] treating the area in and around the home and zones, working out from the first five feet being the most important to really address flammable materials inside that zone,” Rohrbach said.
Rohrbach said people should sign up for Alert Spokane, the county’s emergency notification system, to receive evacuation orders and fire location updates before they are needed.
“The more informed the community is, the easier our job is,” Rohrbach said.
Officials stress that residents should not wait for a fire to threaten their area before taking preparatory steps, as it may be too late to effectively respond once a fire starts.
For information about how to prepare an emergency ‘go bag,’ click HERE.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Brush fire threatens buildings on Tareski Lane near South Cheney Plaza Road
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