22 Snohomish County firefighters deploy to Eastern Washington

Published 8:17 pm Saturday, August 22, 2009

SULTAN — Almost two dozen Snohomish County firefighters have been deployed this weekend to battle wildfires raging in Eastern Washington.

The first team of firefighters was called on Friday morning to tackle a series of fires burning near Soap Lake in Grant County, said Getchell Fire Chief Travis Hots, who is the county’s state mobilizations coordinator.

The team was rerouted today to a 40,000-acre blaze in Yakima and Benton counties.

“We were deployed to the fire line and have been fighting fire,” Hots said.

Another team left Sultan about 11 this morning to fight a fast-moving fire in Okanogan County. The fire has already burned through 12,000 acres and swallowed several homes, and it threatens other homes, Hots said.

“There is a large plume of smoke that can be seen for many, many miles away,” he said.

A total of 22 firefighters and 10 pieces of equipment were deployed from fire districts in Getchell, Lake Stevens, Gold Bar, North County Fire and EMS and Arlington Heights.

Lightning is likely to blame for the fires flaring up in Eastern Washington, Hots said. Hot, dry conditions coupled with lightning strikes have wreaked havoc in the region this summer.