A job well done

The region has been ravaged by serious wildfires. The Snake River Fire torched some 11,500 acres. The Palouse Falls Fire and the Fletcher Road Fire near Lyons Ferry burned thousands more.

All these are out now. The fires were fought with resources from a variety of agencies. Rain Sunday and Tuesday finished off some of the hot spots.

Our area is a tinder box. It is dry and has been hot. The Snake River Fire would have been serious in any event, but high winds exacerbated its danger and compounded the difficulty of fighting it.

This fire started on the Garfield County side of the Snake River. Embers flew across the expansive river and ignited on the Whitman County side.

To fight this fire, resources from all over were called in, including the state. Multiple aircraft and fire strike teams quickly converged on the scene.

The fire torching both sides of the Snake was a big one. It was beyond local resources.

Usually, local fire crews can handle local fires. Field fires, which are common here, are almost always supplemented by neighbors and businesses which provide heavy equipment, tankers and the like.

It was no different for this fire, except the state had operational control over the effort and the locals were supplemented by state equipment and crews. About 300 firefighters are estimated to have taken part in the fight.

Fighting fires is dangerous. Isolated structure fires can be a real challenge, but raging wildfires driven by winds over parched landscapes can be treacherous. The terrain along the river also played into the difficulty and danger of this fire.

All who fought this fire and the others in the region deserve our thanks. It is to their credit that the destruction was not greater than it was.

Their’s was a job well done.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher