WARDEN — A large wildfire near Warden scorched almost 500 acres on Monday.

Firefighters with Grant County Fire District No. 4 responded to combat the fire, which was located along an irrigation canal about 4 miles southwest of Warden, about 2 p.m. High winds quickly fanned the blaze and caused it grow, prompting GCFD No. 4 to request mutual aid. Mutual aid was provided by several different fire districts in Grant and Adams counties.

The decision was made to close down state Route 17 in both directions from state Route 170, near Warden, to Herman Road, near Othello, according to Washington State Patrol Trooper Brian Moore. A Level 1 evacuation notice was sent out by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office for Road 11 Southeast and Road S Southeast, south of Warden, about 3:40 p.m. Level 1 notices are alerts that indicate there is no immediate danger to a given area, but the fire could possibly be moving that way.

Crews were able to gain an upper hand on the fire about 5:40 p.m. and the Level 1 evacuation notice was canceled about 5:50 p.m. SR-17 was reopened between Warden and Othello about 8 p.m. Initial estimates put the size of the fire at about 500 acres.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.