SPOKANE — When the Old Trails Fire raced toward homes on Five Mile Prairie, Sergey Topik faced a choice: evacuate to safety or stay and fight for his property. He chose to stand his ground.
“This is my childhood. This is my whole life,” Topik said. “So I couldn’t let it just burn down. I told myself I wasn’t going to evacuate until the firefighters evacuated.”
While neighbors fled and firefighters urged residents to leave, Topik, his brother, his father, and a next-door neighbor grabbed hoses and shovels and began battling the encroaching flames. The group worked through the night, using dirt and water to suppress the fire as it crept closer to their homes…