Fire encampment erected at Cheney Middle School

CHENEY — An encampment at Cheney Middle School was erected on July 5 to host a Type 3 incident management team (IMT) in fighting the Andrus fire that burned 232 acres. The camp remained in place for the entirety of the week and began to disband on July 11. Incident management teams are called upon when local community resources are taxed beyond capacity and require additional aid from governmental entities.

“When the fire grew to a point where resources would be needed to mitigate the fire for a long duration, coupled with the financial implications of these size fires,” Cheney Fire Chief Tom...