MLFD responds to multiple fires, statewide fire season continues
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 1 month AGO
Firefighters put out four brush fires along I-90 in Moses Lake Wednesday evening, including one that threatened homes in the Montlake neighborhood.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 3, 2023 6:17 PM
MOSES LAKE — One building was seriously damaged when a series of four fires sprang up along I-90 Wednesday evening, according to Moses Lake Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Hollie.
The fires were reported a little before 7 p.m., according to the wildfire alert website Watch Duty. All of the fires were in town and on the north side of I-90, Hollie said.
Only a couple of acres were burned at most, Hollie said. One fire, between the Division Street overpass and the lake shore, affected about a dozen houses in the Montlake neighborhood.
“Just one outbuilding (had) serious damage to it,” Hollie said. “But lots of landscaping, lots of fencing and smoke damage inside of houses.”
“We didn't lose any houses and nobody got hurt,” he added. “So yeah, that's a win.”
The firefighters had the conflagration under control in about half an hour, Hollie said, and were off the scene in about three hours. Crews returned to the scene Thursday morning to mop up hot spots that had popped up in grass clippings, he said. The cause of the fires is still under investigation.
“The fire department (extends) its great gratitude to the citizens in that neighborhood for coming to their neighbors in their time of need, and helping each other,” Hollie said.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington Thursday, according to the NIFC:
• Finch, South Russell Street and West Sunset Boulevard, Spokane: 5 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 3. Containment and cost information not available.
• Dishman, about 3 miles east of Spokane: 2 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 3. Containment and cost information not available.
• Jennings, about 15 miles south of Spokane: 5 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 3. Containment and cost information not available.
• McGowen, about 15 miles west of Goldendale: 5 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 3. Containment and cost information not available.
• West Anderson, about 1 mile northeast of Cheney: 35 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. 0% contained.
• Margarita, about 18 miles north of Ocean Shores, 20 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. Containment and cost information not available.
• West Hallett, about 2 miles west of Spokane: 155 acres. Fire discovered July 31. 60% contained. Costs estimated at $890,000.
• Eagle Bluff, on the Canadian border outside Oroville: 16,110 acres. 30% contained. Costs estimated at $4,900,000.
• I-5 Milepost 206, about 10 miles north of Everett: 16 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 1. Containment and cost information not available.
• Sourdough, about 60 miles east of Bellingham: 38 acres. Fire discovered July 29. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $4,000,000.
• Beaver Valley, about 33 miles southeast of Port Angeles: 3 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 1. Fire discovered July 31. Containment and cost information not available.
• NS-198, about 56 miles west of Yakima: 2 acres. Fire discovered July 31. Containment and cost information not available.
• Pine Hollow, about 8 miles west of Yakima: 30 acres. Fire discovered July 31. Containment and cost information not available.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.