SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – A fire on Beacon hill is all too familiar for some who live in the Spokane Valley area.
Just two years ago, the Spokane Complex fire destroyed multiple homes just north of the Upriver Beacon Fire burning parts of Spokane Valley Wednesday.
The Spokane Complex fire that hit the area in August 2016 was one some residents will not forget.
Darren Cromeenes was at a nearby lake when he heard about this year’s Upriver Beacon Fire that sparked the are Tuesday afternoon and threatened homes. His home is just north of the flames that burned more than 100 acres.
"It was just reminiscent of … two years ago when it burned from the other side and it burned that whole section of the hill,” Cromeenes said.
Concern and recent memories were the first thoughts that came to his mind.
"We didn't know how far onto the property it had gotten,” Cromeenes said. “We have animals that I was really stressed about."
But for another resident who lost her home and had to rebuild, feelings of stress and anxiety are only part of the picture. From her back porch, Karen Landrus said she could see crews fighting Tuesday’s fire.
While she was concerned about the direction of the wind, Landrus said most of her thoughts were on those having to leave their homes.
"My heart was going out to the people who were going through the same thing that we did,” she said. “And our prayers were definitely going out to them."
It was a long process rebuilding her house, but Landrus said to those who lost their homes or valued items – things will get better.
“ You will rebuild,” she said. “You will get your life back. We did ours, so I just want to encourage everyone out there that it's going to be OK."