ROYAL CITY - Grant County Fire District Nos. 10-11, based here, have been helping battle wildfires burning in eastern Washington, according to Public Information Officer Christian Davis.

The latest was two Fridays ago around 7:30 p.m. when a crew lead by Lieutenant Lynn Lindsey responded to a fire located in Winthrop. This was the third time a brush unit from Fire District's Nos. 10-11 responded to the Carlton Complex Fire.

It was the second time Lt. Lindsey, who is the West Hill Orchard manager for Columbia Fruit Company responded for the complex fire. The Fire District has responded to a total of seven requests for state mobilization on large wild land fires, and the state is only in the first half of the fire season.

"We have sent some of our best people from Grant County to make sure that people's homes, properties, and families are safe." Fire Chief Brian Evans said.

"It is absolutely humbling to see our volunteers leave their families and full-time jobs to provide assistance and resources to another community and county." Evans added.

With numerous fires igniting in eastern Washington, many fire departments are having to operate with less available personnel. People need to be extremely careful with burning until the weather changes. The risk of fires in Grant County is extreme.

"It is going to be a long hot season, and it has really been putting our dedicated volunteers to the test." Evans said.