Tree, fencing, wires torched in Coeur d'Alene blaze

COEUR d'ALENE — Fencing was torched, a tree was burned, and telephone and internet wires melted Wednesday by the time someone alerted Diane Ross about the fire happening in the far corner of her backyard.

"I was working," Ross said Friday. "I didn't see a thing."

Around 1:30 p.m., Ross looked out the front window of her home on Fifth Street just north of Hazel Avenue to see someone wearing a Coeur d'Alene Fire Department shirt walking in her front yard and looking toward the back.

"I'm like, 'What's going on?' and he goes, 'Oh, there's a fire back here,'" she said. 

Apparently, an adjacent backyard had a firepit that was not all the way extinguished. It ignited the surrounding dry grass.

"It jumped the fence," Ross said, walking toward the charred tree in the southeast corner of the yard. "We come back here and there's a (phone) line that came down and it's on fire. It was still burning."

She said some guy who was riding his bike in the area saw the smoke and called in the fire. Ross' son's house is on the back of the property, just 25 feet from where the fire occurred.

No one was hurt, but it was a scary episode for Ross and the neighbors with whom she shares the scorched fences.

"I had to drag a hose out for the firemen to put out the hanging line," she said.

Ross, who has lived in her home 15 years, expressed gratitude to everyone who helped put out the fire before it got out of control.

"I'd like to say thank you," she said, her eyes welling with tears. "It hits me here and there. But thank you to the guy that called 911 and the fire department for being on it."

It's going to be an exceptionally hot weekend. According to the National Weather Service in Spokane, an excessive heat warning is in place from 11 this morning to 8 p.m. Monday throughout the Inland Northwest.

Temperatures in Coeur d'Alene will be near 100 degrees today and are expected to reach 104 degrees Sunday, just below the all-time record high of 109 set Aug. 4, 1961.

"The main thing is watch out for signs of heat exhaustion or heatstroke," said Daniel Butler, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane.

It's so hot, Butler said, people should be aware of the possibility of cold shock when cooling off.

"The lakes are probably still fairly cold relative to the temperature outside," he said.

Fire danger was elevated Friday morning to "very high."

According to year-to-date information in the Idaho Department of Lands' Statewide Fire Update released Friday, 4,945 acres have been burned and 128 fires have occurred, with 59 of them being caused by humans.

No fire restrictions are in place in Kootenai County at this time.

Butler said some relief from the heat is expected Tuesday.

"'Relief' is relative at that point," he said. "A forecast of 89 degrees for Coeur d'Alene is above average, but it will be a relief from the really hot temperatures."

He shared reminders to never leave pets or children unattended in hot vehicles, limit strenuous outdoor activities and drink plenty of water and electrolytes to stay hydrated during the heat wave.

Coeur d'Alene Deputy Fire Marshal Craig Etherton said a lot of what fire crews see in wildland fires is ignition starting with an unattended firepit or slash pile, even in early spring.

"We want people to have good mineral soil or non-combustible materials around their firepits for 10-15 feet at least," Etherton said. "When we do our firepits and let our grass grow right up to the fire rings, that's where we have the problems because we dry out all the grass and it catches fire."

He advised community members to be aware of fire conditions, check with local fire departments and keep informed of the weather and any other fire-related issues.

    A tree in the southeastern corner of Diane Ross' Coeur d'Alene backyard caught fire Wednesday, most likely caused by a fire from an adjacent firepit that was left unattended before it was completely out. A passerby saw smoke and called the fire department.