2012 Operations and Incident Responce

11/28/2012 # 11 Bulls Eye Lane Fire

At approximately 0630:hours report of chimney fire with residence filling with smoke is reported and dispatched through Ferry County E-911 Communications Center. Ferry/Okanogan Fire Protection District #14 responds. 

FY/OK FPD #14 on scene with mutual aid tender from FY/OK FPD #13 - Republic Fire Department.

Fire has progressed through the trusses and into one quarter of the living area of the building and burning material is dropping from the eaves to the ground in this image. 

Firefighters were attempting to get ahead of the fire by gaining access into the roof truss system and injecting firefighting foam into the burning areas. Unfortunately the blaze had already spread throughout the truss system.

Engine operator struggles with below freezing temperatures, water relay systems and foam injection over flows as firefighters attempt to contain the blaze at #11 Bulls Eye Lane. 

Firefighters work to contain the blaze to the primary structure and not allow it to spread to adjacent, undamaged garage several feet away.

Interior of primary structure. Firefighters initially worked to suppress the fire within the truss system but the blaze had spread throughout the entire roof system and into several interior walls thwarting firefighting efforts to save the residence. 

North end of the primary structure before firefighters start demolition efforts to protect adjacent building. 

With fire having damaged three quarters of structure and the north eastern portion of the roof having caved in firefighters use heavy equipment to push in southern wall and roof to reduce radiant heat to nearby garage. 



The end result was a loss of the primary structure and no damage to the adjacent garage / shop.

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08/01/2012 Boulder Blaze Incident - Wildfire

Two weeks after the Ferry County Wind Storm of 2012 a green, non-hazard tree fell into powerlines in the Boulder/Deer Creek drainage. The impact to the FY CO PUD powerlines resulted in a wildfire that spread uphill for five acres before fire crews could control and contain the blaze. 

The "Boulder Blaze Fire" as it was named by local firefighters, was burning in timber litter, slash and other surface fuels. 

Due to the hazards of damaged "hot" powerlines and dry summer temperatures the initial spread of the fire exceeded suppression capabilities of first firefighters on scene. 

As the fire heated up torching began to occur and additional fire suppression resources were called into action. Eventually firefighters from FY/OK FPD #14 along with WA DNR Highlands District and a squad plus overhead from Republic Ranger District of the Colville National Forest were on the fireground battling the blaze. 

A firefighting rotor, or helicopter  with attack crew was launched by DNR Incident Commander to assist in controlling the wildfire and keeping it as small as possible.

By late afternoon, through the combined efforts of all the cooperating agencies, the Boulder Blaze Fire was declared contained and controlled and placed in patrol status for the next week before being called out. 

* * * 

07/20/2012 Ferry County Wind Event 

and Disaster Declaration

During the mid afternoon hours of July 20th, 2012 a wind event struck over a dozen counties in NE Washington State causing millions of dollars damage to homes, infrastructures and businesses. The event was caused by a massive cold front storm system blowing in off the North Pacific Ocean and releasing the bulk of it's energy east of the Cascade Mountain Range. 

Ferry County Fire Protection District #14 firefighters and EMS staff assisted by cutting downed trees off roadways, staffing road block and traffic control points and assuring the health and safety of elderly and other at-risk citizens. The following are a series of images from the storm while not necessarily directly related to the activities of FY/OK FPD #14 these images illustrate the challenges faced by the responders, citizens and leaders of Ferry County.
Remember to click on an image to see a larger more detailed view.

Highway 21 north of Curlew Lake State Park after crews cut downed timber and created a passable opening in the debris.

Highway 21 north of Curlew. The Danville area just up the highway was hit hard  by the storm.

Branches, tree tops and other debris in the powerlines were a common sight for several days.

Utility crews from neighboring counties rallied to the aid of Ferry County and assisted our local PUD in re-establishing power to our citizens. 

A typical scene on our unimproved roadways throughout Ferry County. 

This area, adjacent to Ferry County Hospital reflects many patches of timber  damaged throughout the county.  Several hundred thousand trees were damaged or destroyed.

An unfortunate and common sight right after the Wind Storm of 2012 in Ferry County.

Many local businesses, like Stonerose Interpretative Center, pictured here, had to close their doors for business for several days.

What once was a shaded front yard now has a much different view as most of the trees in this yard have been destroyed. 

Five trees fell impacting the roof of this cabin while the owners sheltered-in-place inside during the storm. 

The wind whipping the powerline caused this pole failure. 

Highway 21 south of Malo with timber debris cut and pushed aside.