Whitman County Fire District 11 “Diamond”

09/02/2026

Tonight the Diamond Fire Department completed our annual training at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds — a night built around practical skills, problem‑solving, and a whole lot of hard work.

Our objectives were clear:

• Non‑traditional water supply — establishing and operating from the fairgrounds’ irrigation system.
• Progressive hose lays — stretching line all the way to the top of the grandstand bleachers.
• Decontamination practice — scrubbing bird droppings from the seating area.
• Hose control and nozzle patterns — experimenting with stream types and nozzle patterns to efficiently remove a years worth of Palouse grime.
• Engineer development — giving one of our newer engineers hands‑on pump time, keeping the tank full and supplying the right pressures throughout the night.

As a result of excellent teamwork, the grandstand is now noticeably cleaner and ready for the fair and rodeo.

A big thanks to the potential future recruits that came and helped make it happen.

08/21/2026

Last night we caught a rare break. A recently improved Bonneville Power Administration’s service road, made steep terrain reachable for brush trucks and hand crews, letting them work areas where aircraft couldn’t safely operate.

08/20/2026

Tonight District 11 sent three trucks and nine personnel to help District 14 with a fire in the Snake River breaks that started from a camp trailer.

This wasn’t our usual fast‑moving mutual‑aid fire. Crews spent the night on the ground with hand tools, cleaning up the aircraft‑cut lines and securing the area.

08/10/2026

Here are some more pictures of our back burn operation from last night. The first picture is looking at the fire from the the front yard of the residence.

08/09/2026

Pete Appel and Carsten Miller taking a moment to appreciate the work they have done and observe the power of fire.

08/09/2026

Most of the time, wildland firefighters are forced to fight on the fire’s terms. Last night, we had a fire on a steep timbered slope pushing towards a residence, and if we waited for the fire to reach that home, it would have been nearly impossible to save.

The good news was time—we had a couple of hours before the fire reached the structure. That gave us the chance to fight on our terms.

We used an old road behind the residence as a control line and lit a back burn, letting the fire burn back into itself. As the ignition moved up the slope, a truck followed behind, keeping the residence side cool and preventing any significant spread.

The plan was solid. The ex*****on was flawless. And the residence was saved.

08/09/2026

During last night’s South Palouse River Fire near Colfax, District 11 utilized helicopter resources made available through HB 1498, sponsored by Representative Mary Dye.

We were assigned WA DNR Helicopter 4NW, whose pilot successfully operated over extremely steep and hazardous terrain that would have otherwise required hand‑line access. The pilot remained on scene until nearly dark, providing critical support that — combined with a short deployment of a three‑person hand crew — halted the fire’s progression.

Whitman County Fire District 11 extends sincere appreciation to the pilot of 4NW!

08/09/2026

A long day for Diamond crews. Early this afternoon we sent an attack engine to Malden for a major wildfire, and an hour later were paged to another large fire on South Palouse River Road — our home district — outside Colfax.

Huge thanks to our Whitman County partners and to Moscow, Potlatch, Deary, and Troy for the strong support.

More tomorrow.

08/07/2026

District 11 Diamond responded this afternoon to an all‑county callout for a wildfire in the Hay area. The fire burned several hundred acres. Thanks to quick action from local farmers running discs and the initial attack from District 8 Lacrosse, and District 6 Endicott the forward progress was largely stopped by the time Diamond arrived.

Our crews spent about three hours helping mop up edges and hot spots to reduce the chance of the fire reigniting tomorrow afternoon, when another red flag warning is in effect.

08/02/2026