Arriving in the tourist-driven Chelan was eerie.
“There was no power and the town and valley was dark,” said South King Fire and Rescue Lt. Tyler Luke. “The darkness and smoke made it difficult to see the scope of destruction.”
But the hills were glowing with fire, Luke said, and he and his fellow firefighters had unsettling feeling of what was to come.
“As daylight broke and the devastation began to reveal itself, it was a pretty sobering site,” Luke recalled. “Thus far, it has been long hours working in many different areas, helping people and protecting structures however we can.”
It’s been nearly two weeks since Luke, Eric Kiphart, Joe Eliasen, Brooks Werner and South King Fire and Rescue Chief Chuck Kahler were deployed to help combat the fires that have overtaken Eastern Washington this summer.
South King Fire and Rescue firefighter Randy White has also fought fires as part of the National Guard unit as a Warrant Officer. According to Capt. Jeff Bellinghausen, White has flown a Blackhawk helicopter and is the crew commander of a team of four. He battled fires around Cougar Creek near Mount Adams last week and is expected to be sent out again.
“Randy has performed this duty every year since 2012,” Bellinghausen said.
According to Gov. Jay Inslee’s office, 16 large wildfires have consumed more than 590,000 acres with the majority of them spreading across Central and Eastern Washington. More than 200 homes have been destroyed and more than 12,000 homes and structures remain threatened.
“These fires have completely devastated people, families, and entire communities and with our skills and resources at South King Fire and Rescue, I don’t see how we could sit and watch from the other side of the state,” Luke said, noting the Federal Way and Des Moines communities, along with his department, have provided him with the equipment, training and skills to help with these fires.
Since Chelan, Luke and the other firefighters have been assigned to the first creek fire and the fire in Twisp, where three firefighters were killed while responding to a wildfire.
“We were assigned to the Antione Creek area of the Chelan complex fire when we hear radio traffic discussing the possibilities of trapped and unaccounted firefighters,” Luke said, noting they had already been on shift for about nine hours. “Our strike team quickly regrouped and headed up to Twisp.”
Luke’s team arrived to see an “incredible” amount of smoke and fire as the hills above Twisp burned.
After meeting with the local fire department, they were assigned to protect homes on the edge of town that were most in danger.
“We spent the entire night protecting the town as we closely watched the fire,” he said. “Upon returning to base camp after a 32 hour shift, there was noticeably more somber mood throughout camp.”
Luke expects to go home on Saturday but left thinking his deployment would be much shorter.
“Before we left, I told my wife I expected to be gone about three days,” he said, adding it’s his first wildland deployment in the 7.5 years he’s worked with South King Fire and Rescue.
The Tacoma resident said his experience helping with the Eastern Washington fires has been rewarding.
“The community has really shown their support every day,” he said. “They’ve brought snacks and extra meals and even warm breakfast sandwiches to the front lines. You can’t pass anyone without hearing a thank you.”
The firefighters have also been asked to do tasks they normally don’t get to do in Federal Way, such as digging a fire break around houses with a hand team or clearing brush with a “hot shot team.”
But there are still challenges. There’s fire everywhere and not enough resources to mitigate it all.
“I hope the people from the Federal Way and Des Moines area truly grasp the amount of devastation and the number of lives that have been affected on the east side,” Luke said. “I hope they see the importance and value of sending resources from communities in Western Washington to Eastern Washington.”
The number of fires in Eastern Washington is enough to cover from Tacoma to Mukilteo, Luke said.
“Someday, we will have an event, such as an earthquake, that will press our resources to the max on the west side and I know, from the support of the communities out here, they will not hesitate to send whatever help they can to us in our time of need,” he said.
To help with the fires in Eastern Washington, people can donate to their local Red Cross, the Community Foundation of North Central Washington fire relief fund (https://cfncw.smalldognet.com/erp/donate/list) or the Wildland Fire Foundation, which benefits families of fallen or injured firefighters.
South King Fire and Rescue firefighters battle a fire in Chelan. They went home on Saturday after two weeks of deployment. Contributed photo
South King Fire and Rescue firefighter and warrant officer for the National Guard Randy White is seenpiloting his helicopter at the Cougar Creek fire last week. Contributed photo
