DOUGLAS COUNTY, Wash – Three firefighters from eastern Washington providing mutual aide were injured in the Chelan Hills wildfire last week in what the fire chief calls “a near tragic burnover.”
South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue Chief Shane Stocking says his department mobilized three brush engines and two water tenders to support strike teams on the massive wildfire on July 4th.
Around 3:00 that afternoon, what Stocking calls “unprecedented fire behavior” overran the strike teams.
Stocking says several state and local fire department resources were lost, including an engine from South Pend Oreille Fire and an engine from Stevens County Fire District 11.
Two South Pend Oreille firefighters were taken to the hospital by ambulance and admitted, but have since been released.
A firefighter from Stevens County District 11 also had a firefighter transported, who has also been released.
DNR also confirms it lost a truck, but said those firefighters made it to a safe zone and were not hurt.
Stocking’s news release is the first public confirmation of the burnover and loss of state and local resources.
“We saw this explosive run of fire. It created its own weather and ran over what we would call an entire division,” Stocking said.
“We had two firefighter-EMTs that had to bail and run for their lives. They ran about 250 feet,” Stocking said. “They were lucky to get to our strike team leader’s vehicle, and they were able to bail out.”
“Make no mistake, these brave firefighters made decisions to flee for their lives and should be commended for their decision making and actions,” said Chief Stocking.
“This kind of burnover does not happen often in this state,” he said. “Early in this wildfire season, we are seeing multiple examples of extreme fire behavior in the wildland-urban-interface. SPOFR is beyond proud of our members for making decisions to save their lives in the face of catastrophic fire events, as is the leadership at Stevens County District 11.”
Stocking, who began his firefighting career in California, says the fire behavior observed during the Chelan Hills Fire differs significantly from what firefighters have traditionally encountered in Washington state. He believes training methods used in California could provide valuable lessons for Washington firefighters.
“This is a wake-up call. Fire is burning different. It’s burning faster, it’s burning hotter and it’s burning earlier than it has in this state. We’re just going to have to adjust to that,” Stocking said.
The Chelan Hills Fire has burned nearly 10,000 acres and 100 structures. The most incident report says the fire is 75% contained.
One person died trying to escape the fire in their vehicle.
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