Some Clallam firefighters to come home

SPOKANE — Firefighters from Clallam County Fire District No. 2 began wrapping up their work on the Yale Fire south of Spokane on Thursday and expected to return to Port Angeles today.

Fire District No. 2’s Brush 25 and crew of firefighter/EMTs Rick Leffler and Steve Bentley arrived at the Spokane Complex on Wednesday morning, said Sam Phillips, chief of the district that serves the area around Port Angeles.

On Wednesday, they conducted a burn-out operation on the east side of Hangman Road, said Phillips, explaining that a burn-out operation is used to ensure fire lines remain secure by consuming unburnt fuels adjacent to fire lines.

Burn-out operations

On Thursday, they continued burn-out operations on the west side of Hangman Road on the southern perimeter of the fire.

The Yale Fire remains the most active south of Rock Canyon and in Hangman Valley. As of Thursday, it was 60 percent contained with 5,791 acres burned.

The other fire in the Spokane Complex, the Wellesley Fire, is now 100 percent contained with 341 acres burned, Phillips said.

“We are looking forward to having our firefighters return home,” he said. “They were able to provide needed relief to the firefighters on the east side.”

Clallam County Fire District No. 3, which serves Sequim, has not received word on when the firefighters it sent out will return.

“We haven’t heard anything,” said Assistant Chief Dan Orr on Thursday.

Fire District No. 3 sent five firefighters to Eastern Washington and one to Olympic National Park.

A Fire District No. 3 engine company with four firefighters reported to the Spokane Complex of fires, Orr said.

A division group supervisor is with Northwest Incident Management Team 10 at the Deep North Fire in Stevens County.

A logistics chief from Fire District No. 3 has been assigned to Olympic National Park to help fight four wildland fires in the park, Orr said.