SPOKANE, Wash. — It was unlike any day Todd Graves has seen.
"We ran out and ran down there and looked around the corner, the shop was very tall. When we looked around the corner, there was a wall of fire back in those trees," Graves said. "From the time that we saw the wall of fire until the time we left was probably 20 minutes."
Graves' property was hit by the Grove Fire. Graves has lived on his property for more than 20 years. He's a former firefighter himself and never thought this would happen to him.
"I fought fires out here in the West Plains and have seen many structures like this, but certainly nothing like this has ever happened to me," Graves said.
Fortunately, Graves' primary home was saved but more than half a dozen of his vehicles and his out building were destroyed. He's trying to stay positive.
"Glad that we got out of here without getting hurt, and the neighbors were here helping, and they got away without getting hurt, and it's just stuff we can replace it all," Graves said.
The fire burned 75 acres and destroyed three outbuildings and multiple cars, but it could've been worse.
"It went from a small size to increase in size very, very quickly," DNR Public Information Officer Guy Gifford said. "This fire in August will be a different story. The key thing here is June, we still had a lot of green out there to help slow the fire down in spots."
Gifford says air support also played a big role in the fighting of the Grove Fire.
"We just have more air resources, which is why are you seeing the quicker response," Gifford said,
There were no injuries in the fire and DNR says evacuations went smoothly. That was thanks to a portion of the Cheney-Spokane road opening while under construction.
"There was really an effort to be coordinated in the situation, and we were able to execute as planned," Kirstin Davis said.
Davis with the City of Spokane says it has plans in place for emergencies like wildfires and Tuesday was a good example of that.
"The best thing people can do is be prepared in advance for, you know, levels one, two and three evacuation measures,"' Davis said.
Graves is now waiting on his insurance before he begins to rebuild. It's a long road ahead for graves, but it's a road he's willing to take.
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