SPOKANE, Wash. — More than 1,000 fire personnel moved to the Spokane Fairgrounds last night, establishing a new incident command post for the Spokane area fires. Officials made the decision to relocate from Mt. Spokane High School after crews outgrew the facility and needed additional space to accommodate hundreds of arriving personnel from across the country.
The fairgrounds now function as a fully operational base camp, complete with laundry units, catering services, and shower stations designed to sustain firefighting operations lasting weeks or even months. According to a public information officer with the incident management team, the transition felt like “moving their own little city.”
The California Interagency Management Team reports that crews from nearly 30 states representing more than 100 agencies are now working on the Spokane-area fires. Many firefighters are working 12-hour shifts or more.
Hundreds of firefighters arrived at the fairgrounds today, and for some, the turnaround was quick. Daniel Ramey, a public information officer with Incident Management, explained the process: “Depending on their clock, though, if they just got on the road, they could arrive get a briefing and go straight to the line, depending on the time of the day.”
Behind the scenes, support staff also work demanding schedules. Aron Sauget, part of the team from Thunder Mountain Catering, serves thousands of meals daily to the firefighting crews. Sauget’s team can work up to 20-hour shifts, and this assignment marks their sixth fire deployment this season. Despite the grueling hours, Sauget finds meaning in the work.
“Seeing these firefighters have their little bit of reprieve, you know, when they come into camp is nice,” Sauget said.
The morale at the camp remains high, fueled by a shared mission and community support. Ramey emphasized the unity driving the operation: “Everyone has a common goal. We are here to help the community, so the morale is pretty high.”
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