'Large brush fire' temporarily stalls traffic near Medical Lake
A large brush fire slowed traffic south of Medical Lake on Friday, troopers said.
According to the Washington State Patrol, the incident was reported at 12:19 p.m. 4 miles south of town.
Traffic was reduced to one lane as crews worked to put out the blaze on I-90.
By shortly after 4 p.m., WSP reported that all lanes had been cleared, but firefighters remained on the scene to work on hot spots.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
The blaze came just days after another fire spurred evacuations near Medical Lake, as well as the Upriver fire near Spokane Valley. That fire has destroyed at least a dozen homes, and one person is presumed dead after sheriff's officials said they refused to evacuate.
High winds, warm temperatures and relatively low humidity combined for a red flag warning from the National Weather Service that day.
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