Yakima Fire Department Not Going to Battle Wildfires

Hundreds of firefighters are battling fires in North Central Washington including crews from the West Valley Fire Department.

Deputy Chief Nathan Craig says Chief Dave Leach is a state incident commander and has been battling flames since early Sunday. And he adds, “We have one brush truck and one tender and they’ve been there since Thursday working the night shift.”

Other crews from the lower valley and other counties are also on the fire lines in North Central Washington. Capt. Tom Schneider from the Yakima Fire Department says city crews are staying right here.

We need to protect our own first and be ready for something bad to happen in Yakima. That’s why we don’t send units outside the city.

Schneider says the city does have a mutual aid agreement with county departments but he says the city does not have the resources to send out of county to battle fires.