Joint crew of Jefferson County firefighters sent to Williams Lake Fire

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East Jefferson firefighters were deployed to a massive fire in eastern Washington Wednesday night.

A small crew of emergency responders from East Jefferson Fire Rescue and Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue were mobilized to support local firefighters who are working to contain the Williams Lake Fire in Spokane County, 15 miles south of Cheney.

The Williams Lake Fire is estimated at a hundred acres and growing with more than 400 homes threatened and evacuations in place.

Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste gave the go-ahed for the mobilization of state firefighting resources at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the request of Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief Cody Rohrbach.

The request was an “immediate need,” so the East Jefferson crew drove through the night to go directly to the fire front upon arrival, said East Jefferson Fire Rescue Chief Bret Black.

Lt. Gavin Rogers (East Jefferson) and firefighters Jacob Kinney (East Jefferson) and Alex Sviridovich (Port Ludlow) are assigned to Brush Engine 11 as part of the task force.

“I ask the Jefferson County community to keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers,” Black added.

He also reminded residents to prepare a “go bag” should they need to evacuate due to wildfire as the area enters the peak of fire season.

“Along the western states, we are entering the witching hour of fire season; August, September and October are typically the most intense months of the year for wildfires,” Black added. “I am privileged to be able to field such a qualified team of firefighters.”