Loss of electricity in a record-breaking fire spurred the Spokane Tribe to pursue solar energy.
SPOKANE, Wash.-In 2016, the Cayuse Mountain Fire was Washington state's second-largest fire. Fire crews from the Colville Tribes and the Kalispel Tribe helped the Spokane Tribe fight the blaze, which jumped the Spokane River onto the reservation. Making the fire devastation even worse, water ran low and pumps stopped working when the electricity was cut off and homeowners couldn't defend their property. Crews couldn't get into active wildfire areas to replace burned power poles and downed lines. As a result 18,000 acres and 14 homes were destroyed, and about 50 people from the Spokane Indian T...
