Grove Fire destroys former firefighter's property

SPOKANE, Wash. – It was unlike any day Todd Graves had seen.

“We ran out and looked around the corner, the store was really big. When we looked around the corner there was a wall of fire in these trees,” Graves said. “From the time we saw the wall of fire to the time we left, it was probably 20 minutes.”

Graves' property was affected by the Grove Fire. Graves has lived on his property for more than 20 years. He is a former firefighter himself and never thought this would happen to him.

“I've fought fires here on the Western Plains and seen many structures like this, but certainly nothing like this has ever happened to me,” Graves said.

Fortunately, Graves' main residence was saved, but more than half a dozen of his vehicles and his outbuilding were destroyed. He tries to stay positive.

“I'm glad we got out of here unhurt, and the neighbors were there to help us, and they got out unhurt, and those are just things we can replace,” he said. Graves said.

The fire burned 75 acres and destroyed three outbuildings and several cars, but the situation could have been worse.

“It went from a small size to one that grew very, very quickly,” said Guy Gifford, DNR public information officer. “This fire in August will be a different story. The main thing here is June, we still had a lot of greenery to help slow the fire in places.”

Gifford says air support also played an important role in fighting the Grove Fire.

“We just have more air resources, which is why you're seeing a quicker response,” Gifford said.

There were no injuries in the fire and the DNR says evacuations went smoothly. That's thanks to the opening of part of the Cheney-Spokane Highway during construction.

“There was really a coordinated effort in the situation, and we were able to execute as planned,” Kirstin Davis said.

Davis, of the city of Spokane, said he has plans in place to deal with emergencies such as wildfires and Tuesday was a good example.

“The best thing people can do is prepare in advance for, you know, level one, two and three evacuation measures,” Davis said.

Graves is now waiting for insurance before he begins rebuilding. The road to the graves is long, but it's a path he's willing to take.

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