Fire near Soap Lake destroys structures, recreation equipment
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 9 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. | June 11, 2021 1:00 AM
SOAP LAKE — A fire destroyed a house, an outbuilding and camping trailers at two homes Wednesday afternoon, about two miles southeast of Soap Lake.
Grant County Fire District 7 Chief Kirk Sheppard said the fire, which started at 915 Road 19 NE, was very destructive for its size.
“We lost a shed, two campers, a boat and a five-bedroom house,” he said.
But no one was injured, he said.
The fire was reported at about 2:30 p.m. The wind was blowing about 20 mph, which helped spread the flames, Sheppard said.
The fire started in a shed behind a five-bedroom house, where no one was home, Sheppard said. The fire moved from the shed to a 14-foot trailer, then to a wood fence between two properties. It spread along the fence to a camping trailer and a boat at the neighboring residence, 967 Road 19 NE. It then burned the boat and some yard equipment stored near the camping trailer.
The fire spread to the attic of the five-bedroom house and burned its entire length, he said. The house was a total loss.
Two trees also caught fire, and flames from the trees crossed Road 19 and set fire to the edge of an alfalfa field, Sheppard said.
The neighbor was home and tried to use a garden hose to help put out the fire, he said.
“The shed, the two camp trailers and the boat were all completely burned to the ground,” Sheppard said. “It was a really devastating, bad fire.”
Crews from the Ephrata Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 7 also responded to the fire and were on the scene about four hours. Sheppard expressed gratitude for the work done by his department, and for the assistance from neighboring agencies.
“Everybody did an awesome job,” he said.
Grant County Fire Marshal Nathan Poplawski said investigators found the origin of the fire, but the cause is undetermined.
MORE LOCAL-NEWS STORIES
Residents accidentally spark 100-acre wildfire
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 5 years, 9 months ago
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Overproduction, possible tariff retaliation - interesting times for tree fruit growers
WENATCHEE — An old saying – said to be Japanese, and said to be a curse – talks about living in interesting times. While it’s always an interesting time to be in the tree fruit business, times are especially interesting now.
Overproduction, possible tariff retaliation - interesting times for tree fruit growers
WENATCHEE — An old saying – said to be Japanese, and said to be a curse – talks about living in interesting times. While it’s always an interesting time to be in the tree fruit business, times are especially interesting now.
Othello buys property for water treatment facility
OTHELLO — The new facility that will treat water from the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District system for use by Othello residents will be located along Lee Road. Othello City Council members approved the purchase of property for the project Monday. Othello Mayor Shawn Logan said the purchase was good for Othello, a big enough deal that he held a signing ceremony to highlight it.