SPOKANE, Wash. — A year after the Grove Road Fire destroyed most of their business, a Spokane wildfire fighting company is back and ready for fire season.
Chewack Fire lost four of six engines, its shop and all records when the Grove Road Fire hit last June. Owner Todd Graves had to rebuild from scratch.
“It was pretty devastating, just the thought of how much fire was here and losing everything,” Graves said.
Graves never stopped fighting fires. He worked across the Pacific Northwest last season with whatever equipment survived.
“We dislike fire very much and the devastation that it creates. And if we can help put it out, then we want to help. I’ve been a wildland firefighter since 1978, and so it’s definitely in my blood,” Graves said.
The recovery has been hard on the family. Graves’ daughter Emily works with him and described the emotional impact.
“It’s very sad and very overwhelming because I know how much my dad lost and it was we all lost. But my dad especially, it was really sad,” Emily Graves said.
Today, Chewack Fire has four engines again and is rebuilding its shop. The family works out of a fifth wheel trailer while construction continues.
Graves remembers “the wall of fire coming through those trees” and how “it was getting pretty smoky and we were coughing and choking.”
Graves says Chewack Fire is ready to go full-force this fire season. Emily said her father keeps fighting because that’s who he is: a first responder.
“And if we can help put it out, then we want to help,” Todd Graves said.
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