PINE CITY - Volunteer firefighters from across the county were pitted against two wildfires this past week, successfully extinguishing both with the help of state fire services.

On Thursday, Aug. 11, volunteers from Rosalia's Whitman County Fire District 7 were tasked with investigating the source of smoke in the Hole in the Ground area north of Rock Lake.

The responders located a growing fire burning in rocky and timbered terrain that reportedly made access difficult.

Nearby state Department of Natural Resource crews followed to investigate the smoke as well, and assisted volunteers on t...