SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. -- Firefighters doused a large fire near the railroad tracks just north of the Spokane County Interstate Fairgrounds Wednesday.
Officials say the railroad ties caught fire between the track at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail-yard. It created a large plume of black smoke that could be seen from all over Spokane Valley and Spokane.
The fire, near 4510 E. Wisconsin, started around 11:00 a.m., causing fire companies from all over the city to respond. Flames leaped 20 feet into the air. Firefighters have a good idea what ignited it.
"There was a high intensity cutting torch they were working with there, and it most likely started the creosote and the logs," said Spokane Fire Department Spokesman Brian Schaffer.
The fire was contained between the railroad tracks. No one was hurt. But the smoke is toxic and it blasted into the air for an hour. Schaefer says firefighters will be watching for a lingering threat to the groundwater.
Fire officials called the Department of Ecology and Air Quality to keep an eye on the situation and make sure nothing seeps in the aquifer.
