FORD, Wash — The Ford Corkscrew Fire started near the town of Ford on Sunday afternoon and quickly started spreading toward homes.
Kadena Francis had gone outside to check on her laundry on Sunday afternoon. Instead, she was confronted by a fast-moving wildfire.
“I went out to check our laundry and smelled the massive smoke, and looked out the back door and saw it. I ran out front, saw the huge plume just over the rise there, and that was about it,” Kadena Francis said.
Kadena and her husband Tracey had to rush to gather their belongings as the Ford Corkscrew Fire moved closer.
“Well the first thing you do is panic,” Tracey said.
“You panic and you think, ‘What do I absolutely need to get out of here?’ You know, certain paperwork, titles to our vehicles, get our dogs out of here,” Francis said.
They said the flames from the fire almost took out their home and a lot more.
“Well, it was pretty wild. We got lucky. I mean, it was like a matter of perfect timing,” Tracey said. “We almost lost the house, the shop, the whole neighborhood.”
They weren’t the only lucky ones. The Cummings family lives right down the road, and took photos as the fire came within feet of their home. Luckily, their home was undamaged, but one of their barns was destroyed by the flames.
So far, the Ford Corkscrew Fire is estimated as having burned at least 13,000 acres. Fire officials also said they have received reports of barns and sheds, along with one abandoned house. They also said they have heard that more structures have been destroyed, but they don’t yet have an official count. As of Tuesday morning, containment on the fire remained at 0%.
Part of the reason some people were able to save their homes was through the help of the community.
“You know, I had a friend bring up a 400-gallon water tank with a gas pump, so I was out there with the hose, too,” Tracey said.
Airplanes and helicopters have been on the scene Monday. Fire officials said crews from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and local agencies from Spokane and Stevens counties have also been on the scene. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.