By K.C. Mehaffey
The Wenatchee World
ORONDO, Wash. — Twenty-two residents were evacuated Friday night after fireworks ignited tall, dry brush in Brays Canyon near Orondo and a large diesel tank used for farm equipment fuel was threatened.
“It was a long night,” said Fire Chief Jim Oatey of Douglas County Fire District 4 in Orondo. “The wind was fanning the flames — at times there were 15- to 20-foot flame lengths,” he said.
Reported at about 9 p.m., the two-alarm fire drew response from 29 firefighters from several surrounding fire departments. With wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour, the blaze made a strong run up the steep canyon, and threatened to jump Brays Canyon Road below the Desert Canyon Golf Course, but firefighters were able to catch it before it did, Oatey said.
“It was within inches of jumping the highway,” he said. And if it had, he said, it likely would have turned into a large fire needing help from state mobilization, the fire chief said.
Instead, they corralled the fire at nine acres, and no homes were lost. Residents were sent back home at about 3 a.m., and firefighters cleared the scene by 4:30 a.m.
“A lot of really good people gave up their Fourth of July celebrations,” he said.
Oatey said it’s usually dry in July, but this year it’s extremely dry. “People need to be aware of their surroundings. Lighting off fireworks is always a dangerous situation. This year, it’s even more so,” he said.
Other fire departments around the region reported lots of calls, and some spot fires, but none that grew out of control before firefighters were able to contain them.
Randall Rishe, firefighter with Chelan County Fire District 1, said they were toned out to a total of nine fires caused by fireworks.
Joe Monahan, a firefighter for the Wenatchee Fire Department, said a fireworks-caused blaze in the Broadview area was headed toward houses before it was extinguished. Arborvitae behind a house at 800 Yakima Street also caught fire but was quickly put out, he said.
And Douglas County Fire District 2 responded to about five calls caused by fireworks, but all had been put out by the time firefighters arrived.
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(c)2014 The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.)
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