Rimrock Meadows fire destroys travel trailer
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 12 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | April 5, 2021 1:00 AM
EPHRATA — A travel trailer was destroyed in a fire Wednesday at Rimrock Meadows about 16 miles north of Ephrata.
Todd Hufman, assistant chief for Grant County Fire District 13, said no one was injured.
The property owner was on the scene at the time of the fire, but his phone was destroyed and he couldn’t report it, Hufman said. The landowner tried to fight it as best he could until help arrived, he said.
The fire district responded with eight trucks and about 12 firefighters. Firefighters were on the scene about 90 minutes.
The Rimrock Meadows fire brigade also responded, as well as “volunteers that went to work with shovels and stuff,” until firetrucks arrived, Hufman said.
The fire spread to the adjoining wildland, but firefighters contained it to about half an acre, Hufman said.
The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Friday, according to the Douglas County Fire Marshal’s office. Rimrock Meadows is in Douglas County but contracts for services with GCFD 13.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”
Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.
Othello Community Museum to open April 25
OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.