FIRE REPORT: High temps increase fire risks
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 2 months 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
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.”