SPOKANE — Spokane Valley fire officials said today that an unidentified juvenile, rather than homeowner Tracy Berg, should have extinguished the recreational fire that turned into a blaze that destroyed 11 homes.
On Tuesday, those fire officials identified Berg as the person they believed to be inadvertently responsible for starting the destructive July 10 fire. Berg’s home was not damaged in the blaze.
While the fire “was lit with permission and in the presence of Tracy Berg on July 7, extinguishment of the fire turned out to be the responsibility of the juvenile unrelated to the Berg family,” Spokane Valley Fire Department spokesman Bill Clifford said in a statement.
“Additional investigation concluded that Tracy Berg is not criminally liable and will not be cited,” Clifford added.
“No criminal charges will be requested regarding the fire,” the statement added. Clifford did not immediately return an Associated Press phone call tonight.
Authorities lifted an evacuation advisory this morning for some 2,300 homes east of Spokane, where the Spokane Valley fire has scorched 1,006 acres.
The fire was 90 percent contained today, and crews hoped to fully contain it by Thursday morning.
Elsewhere, officials announced that the Badger Mountain wildfire north of Wenatchee was started by vehicle exhaust.
Despite gusty winds and warm temperatures the past few days, fire crews continued to gain ground today on several blazes burning in Eastern Washington.
The Cold Springs fire near Mount Adams has burned nearly 12 square miles in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and on the Yakama Indian Reservation. The fire about 10 miles northeast of Trout Lake was 5 percent contained today, fire officials said.
First reported late Saturday, the fire was believed to have been started by lightning several days earlier. No homes were threatened.
More than 515 firefighters were assigned to the blaze.
North of Wenatchee, the two fires comprising the Badger Mountain complex have burned 23 square miles, or 15,023 acres, but the Badger Mountain fire was 95 percent contained late today, fire officials there said in a statement.
The other fire in the complex, the Brown’s Canyon fire, was fully contained Monday.
The Douglas County sheriff’s office said today that its preliminary investigation places the Badger Mountain blame on vehicle exhaust. The cause of the Brown’s Canyon fire remains under investigation.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
