Firefighters busy all over

Grand Coulee volunteer firefighters responded to 526 Wetzel Street for a fireworks-related blaze reported at 8:41 p.m. They were on scene by 8:46. Douglas County Fire Disrtrict 3 also responded.

It was one of several fires that burned in region over the last several days.

The fire was put out quickly and all crews left by 9:09 p.m., a department Facebook post said.

Police at the scene said it was believed to have been started by people under the age of 18 and that no infraction would be issued since police didn't witness it and it could get tossed out of court.

Local firefighters also handled other small fires in the area during the holiday week and weekend.

Grand Coulee and Electric City responded to a small fire in the forested area next to the coulee wall just south of Delano July 3, dousing an area about 50 feet square. July 2, they had to spray down a burning boat at Sunbanks Lake Resort. And Coulee Dam put out a garbage can fire started by a discarded firework in east Coulee Dam on July 4 as the town was full of people at a festival, there for the fireworks and music.

Lightning started a fire 13 miles south of Inchelium July 4 on the Colville Reservation. At 14 acres, it was 50 percent contained Tuesday afternoon, according to incident commanders with the Northeast Interagency Incident Management Team 2.

Smoke from the 11,000-acre Pioneer Fire along Lake Chelan filled the Grand Coulee Dam area July 5. Highway 17 at US 2 west of Coulee City was closed for smoke. And a 16-year-old was arrested in connection with starting a fire in Wenatchee that caused evacuations.

All fires at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area are prohibited as of 12:01 a.m., Thursday, July 11, until further notice, the National Park Service said yesterday.

The National Weather Service listed much of this area in a Red Flag warning for fire-prone conditions starting yesterday. And last night, the state Fire Marshal's Office decided to "pre-position" resources in Kittitas, Yakima, and Klickitat Counties, which have been in hot and dry conditions for days, just in case.

With temperatures all over the region in triple digits, a spark from a lawnmower hitting a rock can start a fire that will spread quickly with a little wind.

Extreme caution is warranted.