Homes destroyed in devastating Kennewick wildfire still not rebuilt more than a year later

When the Bofer Canyon fire hit 14 months ago, Rob and Sara Green were already looking to move out of their home in the south Kennewick area.

Sara was offered a position in Portland at the Providence Cancer Institute, and they were considering whether to leave their 43rd Avenue home.

Then fire swept over the hill and into the Canyon Lakes and Inspiration Estates neighborhoods. They watched it engulf their neighbors’ homes.

“Then we turned to our right and we could see that the fire had crept up the hill and was situated between my house and my neighbor’s house,” Rob Green said. “We only had time to get out a few items and one of our three vehicles.”

The Greens were one of four families to lose their home in the 5,000-acre, wind-driven wildfire that destroyed five houses and damaged others.

Now, more than a year after the fire, only one home is expected to be rebuilt.

Others have stayed in town but picked other places to live.

The Greens made a different choice.

They used the fire as a chance to move to Camas near Sara’s work at the Portland hospital.

Steven and Candie Smith, who lived on 47th Avenue, moved to a house a few streets away.

Wayne and Carol Miller found a home in another part of Kennewick after their house at 4800 S. Ely St. burned.

The ground where the historic house that George Austin built also sits vacant.

Bruce and Lorrie Ratchford owned that home, but also lost their main house at the end of Ely Street, along with a horse and mule.

They are planning to put a one-story Frank Lloyd Wright-style home at the site and replace their animals.

“It will be the greatest house in the Tri-Cities,” Lorrie Ratchford told the Herald.

Lessons learned

No one could have anticipated the devastation the wildfire would cause when it ignited near the Locust Grove and Highway 397 interchange.

It was one in a series of fires that day in the Tri-Cities area during a busy fire season.

But this was the most damagin in 25 years. A whirlwind sent flaming debris into dry brush in an open field, putting the flames on a collision course with the south Kennewick neighborhoods.

Residents weren’t prepared when it descended on them. For the Greens, the bushes they had next to their homes turned into torches.

“We met with (firefighters) a couple times, and they said, ‘We see that you have junipers. You probably would have been better to have 55 gallon drums of gasoline next to your home,’” Rob Green said. “We didn’t know any of this stuff before the fire.”

In the aftermath, firefighters met with homeowners from Canyon Lakes and Inspiration Estates, and city leaders adopted the Firewise USA program from the National Fire Protection Association.

The program looks at ways people living on the edge of wildlands can make their homes safer.

Develop a safety plan

When a series of fires hit Zintel Canyon in Kennewick during the next two months, the fire department and the city sprang into action.

They worked to clear dead trees, make it easier for firefighters to access the area and partnered with other agencies and volunteers to make sure the popular walking area is maintained.

They continued efforts this year by going door-to-door and giving people information about how to prevent a fire from reaching their homes.

“We need to get that information out,” Capt. Brian Ellis has said. “If each person can take care of their property and their neighbor takes care of theirs, it just builds on itself to where you have entire neighborhoods that are protected.”

The recent departure of Fire Chief Vince Beasley won’t change the city’s plans to continue with the program, said Evelyn Lusignan, the city spokeswoman.

“The fire department has provided information on the Firewise program to the homeowner groups, and is committed to continuing to assist property owners through their continued outreach and safety education,” she said.

A good insurance company

Green also learned the importance of having an insurance company that worked closely with him on his claim.

“The insurance company could have made it much more difficult,” he said. “I heard from some other people that they had to itemize everything.”

Neither the Greens nor the Smiths have determined what they want to ultimately do with their lots. Benton County Assessors Office records show no one has sold their property burned by the fire.

“We haven’t decided what we wanted to do,” Green said. “We’re really enjoying it over here.”