Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
A quip on a social media post said it all: “Harrington has never been so busy.”
That tongue-in-cheek post was in reference to a decision to divert Interstate 90 traffic between Spokane and Sprague through Airway Heights, Reardan, Davenport and Harrington as the Gray Fire encroached on the highway over the weekend.
The fire broke out Friday afternoon near Eastern State Hospital and Medical Lake. As it grew toward Four Lakes and Cheney, authorities decided to detour traffic at different times through those communities, as well as Edwall and Cheney until Monday afternoon.
Apparently, they had never driven the route through Edwall. If they had, they would’ve known how rough portions of the pavement are, especially near railroad crossings.
But maybe they haven’t driven many of the other roads either, as each time a new detour was pushed out, more problems followed. The changing detours caused vehicle-backups on state Highways 904, 231, 28 and 23, and U.S. Highway 2.
The biggest emergency was the fire bearing down on Medical Lake and the surrounding neighborhoods. At last count Monday morning, 10,014 acres had burned.
Those deciding to reroute traffic on small, rural highways created a secondary problem.
Traffic backed up for miles through Cheney.
While interstate traffic poured into Cheney, emergency officials panicked city residents by issuing excessive evacuation “orders,” telling people they had to get out. Only, residents couldn’t go anywhere because of diverted interstate traffic.
As it turned out, the Gray Fire didn’t get too close to Cheney. But with the highway still backed up, some residents who decided to evacuate were stuck in traffic trying to return home.
Compounding the problem were the GPS motorists. You know, the yahoos that believe their telephones can help them navigate our back roads – many of which are dirt or gravel between Sprague and Cheney.
As they tried to rejoin traffic, they caused traffic backups into neighborhoods far from the fire.
It wasn’t just Cheney.
In Lincoln County, southbound Highway 231 was closed for a while after a traffic crash made that route impassible. So, motorists were diverted again to Davenport and then Harrington. Of course, there are limited options for food and fuel – and no rest areas – on that route.
The traffic was more than Lincoln County’s small communities were ready to handle. As a result, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who typically conduct 5-15 traffic stops in a given weekend, initiated 114 stops.
You would think with area leaders pushing so hard for a new north-south Spokane corridor, they would’ve had an emergency traffic plan.
They obviously didn’t. Their inability to manage traffic in an emergency created multiple problems for those who should’ve been unaffected by the fire.
Let’s hope those who failed miserably to manage traffic can get a plan in place before it’s needed again.
Roger Harnack is co-owner and publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.
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