Christmas Tree Fire Danger - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

SPOKANE, Wash. - Christmas trees are the cause of hundreds of fires in the United States every holiday season. In fact, a dry Christmas tree that hasn't been watered in days, could be a pile of ashes in less than 90 seconds if it were to catch fire.

Members of Spokane County Fire District 9 agreed to help with a demonstration to prevent some of these accidents here in the Inland Northwest.

Firefighter Dan Walsh demonstrated how easy it is for a tree to catch fire. The fire spread quickly up the trunk of the tree, putting off a lot of smoke. Walsh says, "Someone will have it too close to something, putting off heat like a fire place, that sort of thing."

"Within just seconds, the temperature on the ceiling goes over 200 degrees," Walsh explained.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, and the message this holiday season, is to keep the fire in your fireplace, because you don't want the fire department showing up to your house, especially on Christmas Eve.