SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – Level three evacuations have been lifted for three homes on Valley Springs Road due to the Upriver Beacon Fire.
KREM 2 toured the area around the homes earlier Thursday during the evacuations. Charred black earth surrounded them and, in some places, it got within a feet of the homes. In the end, the fire actually went around each of the houses. Trooper Jeff Sevigney said it was because their land is laid out defensively against the fire.
“So, this really is a great example of what homeowners can do on their own to impact the outcome is a wildfire does begin," said Sevigney. "You can see the area around the home, the grass is cut very short.
They don't have a lot of shrubs or vegetation immediately adjacent to the home. It's all kept quite a ways away from it. This really slows the progress of the fire, along with the energy the fire has."
He adds one home in particular was also at an advantage by using rocks, which do not burn, at each level of the lawn. It is a similar case for another home that is still being built, featuring a concrete foundation on the south side.
"The vegetation around the home has been moved real short so the energy is kept away from the structure and that's really what you want," he said.
Sevigney said they did have a few flare ups near the homes again Thursday morning. But firefighters that are still here patrolling the home got it out quickly.