FIRE REPORT: Royal Slope Fire District puts out fire with limited water

ROYAL CITY — A small fire broke out at an orchard around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 12000 block of Road A Southeast near Royal Camp, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Because the fuel involved polyurethane netting and other combustibles, Royal Slope firefighters allowed the fire to burn under controlled conditions for a while, in order to limit water use and avoid creating contaminated runoff in irrigation waterways. The fire was out by about 4:30, the GCSO wrote.

A blaze dubbed the Larene Fire burned about 17 acres nine miles northwest of Davenport on Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Davenport Fire Department firefighters and the Department of Natural Resources had the fire contained by Wednesday afternoon.

A small fire burned about two acres in Wapato near the intersection of Highway 97 and E. Jones Road on Thursday. The fire was listed as 100% contained and in mop-up as of 4 p.m. Thursday.

Seven prescribed fires are still burning in Ferry and Stevens counties, mostly concentrated around the Spokane Indian Reservation, and another is burning in the Okanogan National Forest about 43 miles northwest of Omak, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. An announcement from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville said that prescribed burns can be expected through May 31 depending on weather conditions. Prescribed burning helps to reduce wildfires during hotter, dryer seasons by clearing out densely-grown vegetation on forest floors.