Fire escape: Dramatic brush fire dies down

Tim Andis surveyed the patchy, charred eastern slope of Cowiche Mountain.

Blackened fingers of hillside wound their way around houses along Hillman Road.

"Every one of these homes is still here," he said. "That's what amazes me."

Andis spent Monday helping his neighbors unpack valuables they had boxed up and moved out Sunday during the huge brush fire in West Valley that damaged a vacant building, destroyed two outbuildings, a couple of pump houses and numerous orchard trees, and forced the evacuation of about 100 homes.

About 200 firefighters from seven counties, brought in to relieve worn-out Yakima County crews, spent Monday widening fire lines and mopping up throughout the burned area. Between 250 and 300 were expected to stay on the fire lines from Monday night through this morning, said Christy Boisselle, a spokeswoman for the West Valley Fire District.

The blaze had nearly burned itself out by Monday night, with only a few isolated wisps of smoke rising from the hill, but officials said the fire is only 35 percent contained because there are numerous hot spots and patches of unburned brush.

The fire consumed spots within a 6,200-acre area, a smaller amount than Monday morning's estimates of 10,000.

"It was a pretty mellow day," Brandon Lewis, a Tri-Cities firefighter acting as a deputy operations commander for the blaze, told firefighters at a crew briefing Monday night.

Winds were calm Monday but crews were braced for forecasted gusts of up to 20 mph.

Commanders may start sending some of the visiting crews home today if the progress continued overnight.

The fire started Sunday afternoon near Cowiche Mill Road. Authorities have cordoned off an area at 2401 Cowiche Mill Road, near Cowiche Creek Nursery, where the fire is believed to have started.

Fire officials received no reports of damage at the nursery.

Cause of the fire remains undetermined. Investigators from the Yakima County Fire Marshal's Office and the Union Gap Fire Department searched for clues Monday.

Three West Valley firefighters received minor burns, scrapes and bruises Sunday when flames engulfed their truck along Carvo Road on the south side of the hill.

The firefighters jumped out of the truck and ran before the truck was destroyed, Boisselle said. One of them received minor burns on his ears, she added.

Injuries included a twisted ankle and smoke inhalation. They were treated and released from a hospital Sunday evening.

The firefighters declined to give their names and authorities did not release them because the incident is under investigation. A straw hat covered the burned, blistered ears of one firefighter, protecting them from the sun as he walked the area Monday.

"We're just glad to be alive," he said to the others.

The near miss brought back reminders of the 2001 Thirtymile fire that killed four local firefighters, including Jessica Johnson, a West Valley volunteer.

"It would be a bone-chilling reminder," Boisselle said.

Firefighters used intentionally set, controlled burns and a lot of water to protect houses throughout the night, said John McDonald, a Pasco firefighter deployed with a Tri-Cities task force.

"We saved a couple homes," McDonald said. "We did pretty good."

McDonald described a hot night with shifty winds. Firefighters often dropped to their bellies to find relief from the smoke, he said in an interview at the West Valley station on Zier Road, where he and his crew members waited for a ride home Monday afternoon.

Andis, his wife, Liberty, and their three boys gathered with neighbors in their yard to watch the flames creep over the hill from north to south, then veer toward their houses on the eastern edge of the burned area.

The smoke was so thick they covered their faces with wet cloths and took refuge inside the house.

Flames came within a few feet of their home, burning a strip between them and their uphill neighbors about 50 yards away. Embers struck their roof but their tile shingles -- which they installed specifically in case of fire -- prevented any damage, Andis said.

Most residents evacuated but the Andises stayed, reassured by firefighters working at their property and their wide green lawn.

"I started packing, though," Liberty Andis said.

Tim Andis, who turned 41 Sunday, and some friends also rushed to the aid of neighbors Ray and Susan Paolella, who dashed home from Seattle when they heard about the flames. They all helped load up pictures, boxes and other belongings, moving them down the hill to Andis' shop.

"They just came up like an army," said Susan Paolella.

The fire hopped a 6-foot wide rock barrier and came within about 6 feet of a propane tank at their house.

Ray Paolella, a former Yakima city attorney, is a board member of the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, a nonprofit group that owns a 2,000-acre natural preserve with 14 miles of hiking trails. Part of it burned in the fire, though Boiselle did not know how much.

The blaze also uncovered evidence of what might be a marijuana grow, Boisselle said, though details were unavailable Monday evening. The Yakima County Sheriff's Office has taken over that part of the investigation.

The fire in West Valley drained resources elsewhere, said Ron Melcher, deputy fire marshal for the Yakima Fire Department.

Yakima firefighters helped fight the hillside blaze while others responded to a 1:15 a.m. structure fire on North Ninth Street. The two incidents left the city with no spare fire engines if another fire broke out.

* The Associated Press contributed to this report.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.