STEVENS COUNTY, Wash. — Fire crews responded to a large brush fire in Stevens County on Saturday night.
As of Sunday afternoon, the fire had impacted 41 acres. Crews have covered 100% of the perimeter and are working to cool it off. Smoke is expected to last for a few days in areas crews can not get to, according to a fire spokesperson.
Eight to 12 structures were threatened but will be considered safe by the end of the day.
No homes have been damaged in the fire, although one building was lost to damage.
Evacuations were issued for the area near Pine Hill and SR 291 earlier Saturday. The fire threatened around 30 homes in the area. The DRN said one outhouse was burned down and the flames got close enough to melt housing tile.
The Corkscrew fire is burning around 30-40 acres as of 6:45 Saturday night. Due to the rocky terrain of the area bulldozers have not been able to assist with the fire line.
Approximately 140 crew members are currently working on getting the fire under control. Those crews are receiving assistance from several aerial crews who are doing water dumps on the flames.
According to the Sheriff's office, the fire is drive by the wind in the area. They are also asking boaters and drones to stay away from the area. They said in a Facebook post that drones are interfering with fire operations and need to be grounded immediately.
If future drone intrusions occur, the DNR will be forced to ground their aircraft.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
