Fires all over Washington have destroyed family homes, but some people were able to save them with prep work.
KREM 2 News spoke to a landscape architect who works to protect homes from fire.
Images out of Cle Elum show houses left standing after the fire came dangerously close.
Whether you live in town or in rural areas, there's a lot you can do to save your home according to Clyde Haase, a landscape architect in Spokane.
Haase recommends people clean out gutters, use landscaping that stops fire in its tracks and trim tree branches at least six feet up.
Elk Ridge Heights, a housing development in Spokane Valley, uses rocks and ponds near houses that have large pine trees around them, which Haase says help mitigate fire.
He says when people don’t take this advice; it can put firefighters at risk and cost taxpayers more money.
