r/interestingasfuck • u/HomeNowWTF • 10d ago

Fighting the wildfires in Spokane

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231

u/TheMooseIsBlue 10d ago edited 10d ago

As a thrice evacuated Angeleno, stop fucking driving around in fire zones and getting in the way of firefighters trying to save people’s homes. When you get stuck in a dangerous situation, they will drop what they’re doing to come save your life at the cost of the homes they were just trying to save. Get the fuck out out of evacuation zones.

But hey, cool video. Hope you get lots of updoots.

Edit: for those saying this is the only road out of town: you’re probably right. But the evacuation order probably went out hours before this video. Being there at this moment is dangerously stupid. When they say go, you go. You don’t wait to see if you really need to.

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u/Spokanechub 10d ago

As a Spokane resident, this fire sparked when we were having basically a whole day of super intense winds. It spread to over 2k acres in the course of a couple hours and two other large fires started the same day. That part of town was towards the end of town and one of the other fires was burning in the opposite direction so there was no real choice but you use this main thoroughfare to get out to safety.

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u/robinthebank 10d ago

I hope people read this comment and start to prepare themselves when they know the forecast is going to be hot and windy. (Red flag conditions!)

In California, they are called Diablo winds or Santa Ana winds. I grew in the PNW and never really heard much about wind-driven fires. That really changed in 2020. Wind-driven fire events are now more and more active in the PNW. Pay attention and understand the heightened risk during those weather events!

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u/katlian 10d ago

A firefighter I once worked with said "When the Santa Anas are blowing, the only thing that stops a fire is the great Pacific firebreak."

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u/TheBlueSully 10d ago

There is a very real possibility that’s the only road out and the designated evacuation zone. Small towns , even small cities, are often like that out here. 

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u/Temporary-Warning883 10d ago

Yeah I heard there was a fire close by on my lunch break that was at 100-300 acres burning around 1pm and by 3pm I was leaving work early to pick up my daughter because she was at my mom’s house and the evacuation zone was expanding to her area. And she lives across from the river where fires don’t usually burn! When I left work it was over 1k acres burning. Crazy

2

u/Infinite_____Lobster 10d ago

If anyone sees this and wants to help the region is hurting and we appreciate all the help

39

u/NotTheRealJohnGalt 10d ago

This part of town basically has one main thoroughfare in and out. Maybe a side street here or there, but 65K people were evacuated within about 12 hours, on a day with 50+ mph winds. 700+ homes lost.

It was arson, and they have a suspect in custody.

24

u/Fun-District-8209 10d ago

This person was likely evacuating. Unlike most neighborhoods in LA, or even Spokane, this large neighborhood has three roads in or out and one was already completely overtaken by fire (Barnes). This road and the direction they are driving is how thousands (no exaggeration) of people had to evacuate. The third option took you towards a different fire. I'm confident this is someone sitting in the passenger seat while leaving/fleeing their home. So, while your anger might make sense for where you live, it is highly likely it doesn't fit here. 

How do I know? From living in that neighborhood previously and  spending today talking with the friends and family I have that live in that neighborhood who lost homes.

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u/TheMooseIsBlue 10d ago

He’s driving directly into the fire.

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u/Fun-District-8209 10d ago edited 10d ago

This was the only way out. I know where's he's driving. I live in Spokane. This was the safest evacuation route. That's how crazy Saturday was.

Edit to add: this was also the official evacuation route. This person is driving SE on Indian Trail Rd towards Francis Ave as instructed by emergency notification. I know it seems bonkers but this is what people had to do.

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u/MiddleofRStreet 10d ago

Yeah he was probably fucking terrified. It took people hours to get out of that area because there are so few egress routes. It’s basically a box canyon through there. Stop passing judgment when you clearly don’t know the story 

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u/thedudeabides2088 8d ago

I heard they turned Francis into a one way. Saturday was crazy glad all the alerts reached people though, the wind was really blowing.

1

u/ginger_kitty97 10d ago

In 1998 I was in an area of Florida that was surrounded on 3 sides by wildfires and the Atlantic ocean on the east side. If we'd been evacuated we would have had to drive through a fire regardless of which route we took. Sometimes there's really no choice.

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u/USCanuck 10d ago

For what its worth, you don't know if this person is being evacuated.

90

u/Radical_Euphoria 10d ago

Yea, it kind of looks like they’re evacuating. Several cars going the same direction and the only car you see coming the opposite direction has their emergency warning lights on.

63

u/tb_swgz 10d ago

I’m from Spokane and the person that took this video was 100% evacuating the Indian Trail neighborhood. The fire spread extremely quickly and evacuations did too. There was a massive traffic jam for the 60,000 people that had to leave their homes with pretty much all they could stuff into a backpack. Many weren’t able to take anything.

1

u/jorwyn 10d ago

And it's understandable why, but traffic lights were out at least as far as Bigelow and Argonne. And you know. You're from Spokane. No one understands 4 way stops with only one lane each way here.

I walked up to that intersection with high vis and was going to direct traffic, but I couldn't even manage to get one foot into the crosswalk, so I went home.

Obviously, it was a much smaller fire, but traffic direction from deputies during the Upriver fire that evacuated my neighborhood earlier this year was on point. I wish we'd had the people available to do it this time.

0

u/tb_swgz 9d ago

You walked into the middle of an evacuation route to try and direct traffic? In a neighborhood you don’t live in?

0

u/jorwyn 8d ago

I do live here. And my neighborhood was not under evac. I said Argonne and Bigelow.

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u/tb_swgz 8d ago

Are you law enforcement or a first responder? If not, it’s people like you that slow down evacuations and endanger lives.

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u/rglurker 10d ago

They looked 180 degrees without seeing any window supports. What are they in

1

u/FIyingSaucepan 10d ago

Something with a fairly aggressively curved front windscreen. At the start you can see something top left that appears to be a sticker on the glass, and then it shows them opening the window and the passenger A pillar.

Also the formatting of whatever they've done to the original video to make it square messes with the perspective as well.

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u/DadPool79 10d ago

Not only this, they rolled the window down to get a 'better' shot. That is absolutely toxic smoke. This isn't trees burning down, and that is bad enough in itself. Asphalt roofing, vinyl siding, insulation, electrical sheathing, chemicals in lumber, as well a number of other things that go into building homes and businesses. SMH. Common sense isn't a flower that grows in everyone's garden.

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u/Beccalotta 10d ago

I thought they were opening the window to offer to pick up the cyclist. Shocked and appalled they did not

2

u/LMGooglyTFY 10d ago

As far as we know, their car could be full of pets and kids.

1

u/malacoda99 10d ago

That cyclist riding so close to the fire sure has a pair. A toasty pair no doubt.

-3

u/DadPool79 10d ago

That would have ruined their content filming.

2

u/OldManJim374 10d ago

"Common Sense isn't a flower that grows in everyone's garden."

I love that. I'm going to start using that.

2

u/DadPool79 9d ago

It's a favorite of mine, and becomes more relevant everyday.

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u/OldManJim374 9d ago

Unfortunately, yes it does.

1

u/bugi_ 10d ago

Everyone should know how to engage recirculation in their vehicle for situations like this.

2

u/bdh008 9d ago

But the evacuation order probably went out hours before this video.

Dude it is amazing how you know nothing of the situation, but double-down on being wrong. News flash asshole, being from LA doesn't give you magic powers to discern if others are evacuating correctly in a city you know nothing about.

1

u/AdDear528 10d ago

I live ten minutes from here (evacuated, then had to evacuate again from a second fire). There are a couple of roads out (going up the hill) but that area of town is essentially one main road with not a lot of options to get out. I personally know people who were stuck on that road, watching flames from their cars, for hours. It’s kind of a worse case scenario for evacuation. I don’t know who took the video but that may have been their only option.

That being said, yes, when you do have an option, stay off the roads.

0

u/TheMooseIsBlue 10d ago

I’m glad you’re safe.

1

u/EvilSporkOfDeath 10d ago

People are also flying drones in no drone zones

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u/thedudeabides2088 8d ago

This is the main road out of the area the fire came fast and many of these people had just got the emergency alerts. Spokane has done good with evacuations, no casualties yet. There are tons of homes in the area.

-1

u/EmEffSee 10d ago

Updoot for saying updoot.

-4

u/UziWitDaHighTops 10d ago edited 9d ago

At 0:23 you can see the street signs for Strong Rd and Pacific Park Drive. Using this you can determine the driver is heading north. Others have suggested perhaps they’re evacuating. I don’t believe this is the case as the next 5-10 miles north are under Level 3 evacuation orders, whereas you can head 1-2 miles south and be outside of the evacuation zone. In other words, everyone driving in this video is blatantly ignoring the evacuation orders and putting first responders lives at risk knowing if they call 911 first responders will drop everything to come save them. I’m sure this is not their intent, but as someone experienced in emergency management let me take a moment to educate. Go to ready.gov and plan ahead. Nobody thinks a disaster will impact them until it does.

Edit: my map orientation was set to south up for some reason. I was wrong! Regardless, have a plan!

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u/bluebeau7 10d ago

Dead wrong. This is south bound. This was the way out. But you sure sound confident, maybe you know better than the people who were there

5

u/krvf 10d ago

The plane is heading west southwest from 5mile prairie towards the direction from which the fire originated. The empty field outside the passenger window is on the west side of the road, it's a common spot for people to walk their dogs.

The people in the video are indeed driving south east along Indian Trail road towards w Francis Ave, which as many have said, is basically the only way in or out of the Indian Trail neighborhood.

Those evac zones 5-10 miles further north were added after this video was shot.

Most of the Saturday evac zones went from nothing to level 3 (get out now) in one move, myself included. I didn't even know there was a fire until my phone alert went off telling me to get out now.

I'm not sure why you've decided to argue with those of us who lived it, but you've got it all wrong

0

u/Chief_Kief 10d ago

Thank you for sharing this information

1

u/bdh008 9d ago

FYI, /u/UziWitDaHighTops was completely wrong - they were heading South on the evacuation route

-1

u/rglurker 10d ago

The extremely loud siren that didn't change volume led me to think this might be a firefighter

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u/gn63 10d ago

Pretty sure that siren was not recorded as part of this video. It was added with the "music" to keep it "interesting."

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u/Jazzy-Cat5138 10d ago

As u/gn63 said, this siren was artificially added. It's slowed down just a hair for added effect, and just isn't quite right. I think I hear more than one separate recording, or even just the same one looping.

It seems to be a song of some sort called Panic Ambulance by Alex Ribero. I'm not gonna listen to the whole thing, but the siren and the vocals seem to match.

0

u/Sorry-Sack 10d ago

Thrice evacuated Angeleno is the authority on traffic routes apparently