FIRE REPORT: High temps increase fire risks
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years AGO
The sun sets over the University District in Seattle in May. A hazardous heat wave is expected to bring scorching temperatures to the Pacific Northwest this week, according to the National Weather Service, increasing the risk of wildfire.
AP PHOTO/LINDSEY WASSON, FILE
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 14, 2023 4:11 PM
PORTLAND, Ore.— Almost 85% of all fires in the Northwest this year have been caused by human action, according to data from the Northwest Interagency Fire Center, which tracks wildfires in Washington and Oregon.
So far this year, there have been 1,295 fires in Washington state, of which 25 grew into large fires, defined by the NIFC as 100 acres or greater in timber or 300 acres or greater in grasslands or rangelands. Of those, 1,166 were caused by human activity, 23 of those becoming large fires. Only 129 fires, two of them large, were caused by lightning strikes.
These wildfires were burning in Washington Monday, according to the NIFC:
• Skull Springs, about 19 miles northwest of Ellensburg: 2 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 14. Containment and cost information not available.
• Island, about 7 miles northwest of Olympia: 1.5 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 13. Containment and cost information not available.
• Offutt Lake, about 7 miles southwest of Olympia: 2.9 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 13. Containment and cost information not available.
• Rochester Street, about 13 miles southeast of Olympia: 7 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 13. Containment and cost information not available.
• Mulqueen, about 17 miles southeast of Olympia: 15 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 12. Containment and cost information not available.
• Sourdough, about 60 miles east of Bellingham: 2,586 acres. Fire discovered July 29. 5% contained. Costs estimated at $16 million.
• Dome Peak, about 50 miles northwest of Leavenworth: 30 acres. Fire discovered July 29. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $60,000.
• Chocolate Creek, about 45 miles northwest of Leavenworth: 15 acres. Fire discovered July 20 0% contained. Costs estimated at $90,000.
• Fleming, about 13 miles southeast of Spokane: 7 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 8. Containment and cost information not available.
• Margarita, about 18 miles north of Ocean Shores, 61 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $2.5 million.
• Airplane Lake, about 50 miles northwest of Chelan: 100 acres. Fire discovered July 7. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $50,000.
• Eagle Bluff, on the Canadian border outside Oroville: 16,428 acres. 90% contained. Costs estimated at $9.9 million.
• West Anderson, about 1 mile northeast of Cheney: 35 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. 80% contained. Costs estimated at $379,864.
• West Hallett, about 2 miles west of Spokane: 126 acres. Fire discovered July 31. 99% contained. Costs estimated at $1.68 million.
• 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. 83% contained. Costs estimated at $10 million.
Joel Martin may be reached at [email protected].
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.