Cougar Creek Fire in Asotin County continues to grow
Blaze remains at zero percent containment as it nears 4,900 acres
ASOTIN — The Cougar Creek Fire in southern Asotin County continues to burn with air and ground resources fighting the flames that have consumed about 4,895 acres.
Several structures have been lost, according to residents who live here. Previous reports of no structures burned from the incident team were inaccurate.
The fire destroyed an old farm house built in the 1800s, and the former Hansen Ridge Post Office, said Carl Flynn, of Asotin.
“We lost some history,” Flynn said Thursday morning. “My dad bought that house in 1953, and we used to live in it, years ago. Everything’s burned to the ground.”
The house was vacant and was used in the past for weekend stays when the Flynns were haying in the area. The post office was used for storage.
Fortunately, last summer, several descendants of the family who built the house visited Asotin County from back East and took photos while it was still standing, Flynn said.
Carl and Debby Flynn also lost one pasture and some fences, but he said there was a bright spot to the blaze. “I bet it killed a lot of rattlesnakes.”
The Flynn’s hay shed on Cougar Creek has not been damaged.
On Wednesday, the incident team reported no structures had been lost. A new team is now working on the fire and will be updating information, a spokesperson said Thursday morning. The next news release will be issued this morning, and the latest update lists acreage at nearing 4,900.
The fire remains active and was listed at zero percent containment. Evacuation orders have been issued in several areas, and Grande Ronde River Road is closed from Troy, Ore., to the state highway near Boggan’s Oasis.
Staci Lehman, a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the agency is not aware of any structures being lost on the 4-O Wildlife Area but about 3,000 acres have burned and some mature trees have been lost. She said the fire is expected to move into the Grouse Flats area.
Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com. You can follow her on X @newsfromkerri.
