Nearly 7,000 acres have burned between Kettle Falls and Northport, Washington, with no containment of the fire as of Thursday morning, fire officials said.
The Hope fire, burning near Northport Flat Creek Road and 15 Mile Creek Road on the north side of the Columbia River, has grown to 6,764 acres with level 3 evacuations, meaning to leave immediately, remaining in effect. The fire is about 15 miles north of Kettle Falls.
Anjel Tomayko, public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources, said the size and complexity of the fire has grown beyond the current team.
“There’s a lot of steep terrain, a lot of rocky cliffs, and it’s just going to take a long time for crews to be able to get it fully controlled and take care of all of that heat that’s inside the perimeter,” Tomayko said.
Gayne Sears, public information officer for the Northeast Washington Incident Management Team 3, said management of the fire will transfer from the Northeast Washington Incident Management Team 3 to Northwest Complex Incident Management Team 8 on Friday.
The fire started around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday and quickly spread north, driven primarily by wind, according to a news release from the Type 3 Incident Management Team. Fire burned in timber, brush and grass in the Flat Creek drainage near Lael Road and to the north and east toward Flagstaff Mountain.
On Wednesday, aircraft dropped retardant and water on the fire to slow the spread where structures are threatened.
In the Thursday morning release, fire officials said crews would focus on extinguishing remaining hot spots and embers in the soil and vegetation while conducting burn-out operations to remove unburned fuel and secure the perimeter for the day.
Sears said temperatures were expected to be slightly cooler with higher humidity.
“We’re expecting relatively minimal fire behavior activity today due to the weather conditions being cloudier and light winds compared to yesterday,” Sears said.
Sears also confirmed two structures have been affected by the fire, though no injuries or fatalities have been reported.
A GoFundMe page circulating on Facebook identifies one of the structures as the Crown Creek Saloon, a business and home built by Sally and Steve Shaffer in 2001. Sally Shaffer was able to evacuate safely, the post says.
The second structure has not been publicly identified.
As crews continue working to control the fire, both shelters remain open: a Red Cross evacuation center at Kettle Falls Middle School, 105 W. 11th Ave., and an animal evacuation center at the Northeast Washington Fairgrounds, 317 W. Astor Ave. in Colville.
Communities come together
Sabrina Tipich’s 20-year-old son, Mathew Tipich, had just finished firefighter training a month ago when he was called to help contain the Hope fire.
Living directly across the river from the fire, she said she saw it unfold.
“It was, you know, a 50-acre fire. And then it was a 100-acre fire – it was just exploding within minutes,” Tipich said. “We heard them yelling, ‘It jumped the ridges,’ and we could literally watch it jump from mountain top to mountain top.”
A nearby homeowner who was defending her property from the growing fire snapped a photo of Tipich’s son and sent it to her. Through that homeowner, Tipich learned the firefighters had been working for nearly 24 hours without food or water.
She immediately rallied people from the community to help provide food for the crew.
“I reached out to Mr. Sub in Colville, and just said, ‘Hey, this is how much money we have. Can you please help?’ ” Tipich said. “So we got 40 sub sandwiches, cases of water, trail mix. We just put it together, a huge bundle of fresh fruits, like anything we could think of that might be of a benefit to them.”
Tipich said Heart and Homes Northwest, a real estate company, paid for the sub sandwiches.
She also said other local businesses have stepped up to support families and firefighters. Small Batch Sourdough, a bakery in Northport, has been designated as the drop-off point for food donations. Northern Provisions, a coffee shop in the same building, has been providing free meals to displaced families.
“You see the goodness in people and their hearts for one another, especially in a small community like this,” Tipich said. “They’re our friends; they’re the people we go to church with.”
