FIRE REPORT: MLFD helping with Oregon Road fire; new blaze appears in Seep Lakes
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 1 month AGO
The Oregon Road fire north of Spokane has been burning since Aug. 18 and was up to nearly 11,000 acres Tuesday.
COURTESY PHOTO/MOSES LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
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 30, 2023 1:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Fire Department is taking part in firefighting efforts for the Oregon Road fire, about 31 miles north of Spokane, according to a statement from the MLFD. Firefighter Paramedic Rick Kelly and Probationary Firefighter Paramedic Gary Lebacken have been assisting the Mid-Columbia Strike Team with structure protection, the statement said. The fire, which has been burning north of Spokane since Aug. 18, was up to 10,817 acres and was 49% contained Tuesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Costs were estimated at about $9.3 million.
The Bob Cat Creek fire appeared Tuesday in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, near Deadman Lake in the Seep Lakes. It had spread to 50 acres by late afternoon. Cost and containment information was not available.
These fires were burning or were recently extinguished Tuesday, according to data from the NIFC:
• Jackpot Creek: discovered Aug. 26, the fire had spread to 30 acres Tuesday.
• Adams Fork: This fire about 65 miles northeast of Vancouver, was discovered Aug. 25 and weighed in at 11 acres Tuesday.
• Snagtooth: Discovered Aug. 23, this fire 56 miles northeast of Vancouver was previously reported at 985 acres but was down to 286 on Tuesday. Costs were estimated at $10 million.
• Puyallup Point: Discovered Aug. 27 about 8 miles west of Mount Rainier, it had spread to 10 acres Tuesday afternoon. Containment and cost information was not available.
• Deer Creek: This fire, discovered Aug. 26 about 11 miles southwest of Mount Rainier, was at 20 acres Tuesday afternoon. Containment and cost information was not available.
• The Sheep Shed fire, discovered Aug. 27 about 38 miles northeast of Grand Coulee, had reached 35.7 acres Tuesday. Containment and cost information was not available.
• The Gray fire, which started Aug. 18 about 17 miles west of Spokane, was 90% contained at 10,085 acres Tuesday. Costs were estimated at $8.4 million.
• Crater Creek: The fire, discovered July 22, crossed the Canadian border about 20 miles west of Oroville on Aug. 18. It has burned more than 108,726 acres, 5,055 of them in the U.S. It was 6% contained Tuesday.
• The Eagle Bluff fire, southwest of Oroville near the Canadian border, has burned more than 16,000 acres. The fire has cost about $9.9 million and was 90% contained Tuesday. The cause of the fire is unknown.
• OA Baseline: Discovered Aug. 18 about 7 miles west of Coulee City, this fire was at 978 acres Tuesday. Containment and cost information was not available.
• Chandler: This fire was discovered Aug. 25 about 15 miles west of Centralia. It had burned 46 acres Tuesday and cost and containment information was not available.
• Huckleberry Flats: This fire was discovered Aug. 19 about 41 miles east of Everett and was 100% contained at 134 acres Tuesday. It was human-caused and costs were estimated at $1 million.
• Winona: The fire, discovered Aug. 18, had burned 2,525 acres about 35 miles northwest of Pullman and was 90% contained Tuesday. Costs were estimated at $300,000.
• Toothaker: 188 acres burned about 8 miles southeast of Kennewick. The fire was discovered Aug. 17. It was 100% contained Tuesday and costs were estimated at $350,000.
• Border: This fire, discovered Aug. 15 on the Canadian border about 6 miles west of the Idaho state line, was at 70 acres Tuesday. Containment information was not available, but costs were estimated at $500,000. The cause was natural.
• Airplane Lake: This blaze was at 2,300 acres Tuesday and costs are estimated at $500,000. It is reported as uncontained and no cause has been identified. It was discovered July 7.
• Kindy Creek: An 89-acre fire discovered Aug. 18 in the mountains above Lake Chelan about 75 miles northwest of Wenatchee. The blaze was uncontained Tuesday and costs were estimated at $90,000.
• Sourdough: Burning in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area in the north Cascades since July 29, it was 30% contained Tuesday and had reached 6,234 acres. Costs are estimated at $24 million.
• Blue Lake: This blaze about 53 miles west of Omak had grown to 950 acres Tuesday and was 31% contained. Costs were estimated at $5 million. It was discovered July 29.
• Dome Peak: This fire, located northeast of the Mt. Baker National Forest, was uncontained as of Tuesday and had spread to 802 acres. The fire was reported July 29. Costs were estimated at $100,000.
• Chocolate Creek: This 15-acre blaze about 58 miles northwest of Wenatchee was uncontained Tuesday. Costs were estimated at $90,000.
• Consalus Incident: Around 475 acres burned near the Idaho border due east of the Little Oreille National Wildlife Refuge. The fire has cost about $12 million and is 92% contained. Authorities report that the cause of the fire is natural.
Several other fires are reported throughout the state but have burned less than 10 acres and are not included in this report. The majority are reported as out and many are less than 1 acre.
Joel Martin may be reached by email 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.”