Vehicles destroyed in Soap Lake area fire, other fires continue statewide
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 2 months AGO
A fire east of Soap Lake destroyed about 20 vehicles, five camp trailers or motor homes and more than 100 appliances.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCFD 13
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 7, 2023 6:00 PM
SOAP LAKE — A fire east of Soap Lake burned about 9.5 acres, according to statements from Grant County fire districts 7 and 13.
The fire, in the 3800 block of State Route 28, destroyed about 20 vehicles, five recreational vehicles and nearly 100 appliances. Volunteers fought the fire until about 4 a.m. Saturday, returning later in the morning for mopping up, according to GCFD 7.
The cause of the fire was not given.
Several fires broke out in the Grand Coulee Dam area Sunday, according to a statement from the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department. The Pleasant Valley and Pleasant Rock fires, both on the north side of the coulee along Pleasant Valley Road, burned 150 acres and 50 acres respectively, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Pendell Road fire, in Douglas County about two miles west of Elmer City, spread to 500 acres, according to the NIFC, and the Grand Coulee Fire Department reported another smaller fire in the Rex area off Road 28 in Douglas County. The Cache Butte fire, also in Douglas County near Barker Canyon, spread to 30 acres, according to the NIFC. All the fires were started by lightning, the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department said, and there were no reported injuries or damaged structures.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington Monday, according to the NIFC:
• Agency Butte, about 24 miles northeast of Grand Coulee: 240 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 6. Containment and cost information not available.
• Falls Creek, about 38 miles northeast of Grand Coulee: 5 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 6. Containment and cost information not available.
• Airplane Lake, about 50 miles northwest of Chelan: 100 acres. Fire discovered July 7. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $50,000.
• Sourdough, about 60 miles east of Bellingham: 1,397 acres. Fire discovered July 29. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $16 million.
• Eagle Bluff, on the Canadian border outside Oroville: 16,428 acres. 80% contained. Costs estimated at $8.5 million.
• Salmo Basin, on the Canadian border 55 miles north of Newport: 70 acres. Fire discovered July 30. Containment information not available. Costs estimated at $500,000.
• Finch, South Russell Street and West Sunset Boulevard, Spokane: 2 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. 80% contained. Costs estimated at $379,864.
• Margarita, about 18 miles north of Ocean Shores, 61 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. 30% contained. Costs estimated at $2,500,000.
• West Hallett, about 2 miles west of Spokane: 126 acres. Fire discovered July 31. 99% contained. Costs estimated at $1.68 million.
• Pine Hollow, about 8 miles west of Yakima: 30 acres. Fire discovered July 31. Containment and cost information not available.
• Wawawai, about 5 miles west of Pullman: 526 acres. 99% contained. Fire discovered July 24. Costs estimated at $357,253.
• Newell Road, about 17 miles east of Goldendale: 60,551 acres. Fire discovered July 21. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $9.9 million.
• Consalus, about 20 miles north of Newport: 475 acres. Fire discovered June 30. 70% contained. Costs estimated at $10 million.
Joel Martin may be reached at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”