Fire report for July 3, 2023
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 3 months AGO
A mobile home that burned Thursday night sent embers into the wind, threatening several other homes northwest of Ephrata.
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. | July 3, 2023 1:30 AM
EPHRATA — A fire northwest of Ephrata required three fire departments to put out Thursday night, according to a statement from Grant County Fire District 13.
GCFD 7 responded to a call for a structure fire at Johnson Road and Road 17.5 Northwest, according to the statement. When they arrived, firefighters found a mobile home about 50% involved, and threatening a shop and several vehicles, the statement said. Firefighters from the Ephrata Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 7 pitched in, but access was difficult and the wind was pushing embers down into the canyon, which had the potential to ignite and threaten many more homes, according to the statement.
State fire assistance has been mobilized in support of local firefighters working to contain the Moran Creek Fire located about 12 miles northwest of Chewelah in Stevens County, near the town of Arden, according to a statement from the state fire marshal’s office.
The Moran Creek Fire started on Thursday afternoon, according to the statement. As of Friday afternoon, the fire was estimated at 61 acres and growing. It is burning in timber, brush and grass and is threatening homes, agriculture, and infrastructure. Level 2 and 3 evacuations are in effect at this time, according to the statement. The fire cause is currently under investigation.
The Roza Creek wildfire, located above the Yakima River Canyon between Yakima and Ellensburg, had burned about 717 acres as of Friday afternoon, according to a statement from the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team. The fire was 75% contained and no structures were threatened as of 6 p.m. Friday. Five crews were reported on the scene with six fire engines, four dozers and one helicopter supporting a total of 150 personnel in battling the fire.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington as of Thursday afternoon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center and the NOAA Office of Satellite and Product Operations:
• Oasis, about seven miles west of Touchet: 4,250 acres. Fire discovered June 19.
• South Satus, about 14 miles southeast of Toppenish: 997 acres. Fire discovered June 13.
• Hansen Road, about one mile south of Benton City: 6,289 acres. Fire discovered June 13.
• Hover Park, three miles southeast of Finley: 528 acres. Fire discovered June 13.
• Methow, south end of Wenatchee: 150 acres. Fire discovered June 27.
• Charles, about 17 miles northwest of Spokane: 12.3 acres. Fire discovered June 29.
• Beehive, about 15 miles northeast of Omak: 27 acres. Fire discovered June 28.
• Gold Mountain Ridge, about 12 miles northeast of Keller: 8 acres. Fire discovered June 29.
• 48th Avenue, about 5 miles southeast of Yelm: 12 acres. Fire discovered June 29.
• California Road, 12 miles northwest of Shelton: 1.9 acres. Fire discovered June 29.
• Dungeness Refuge, Sequim: 1.2 acres. Fire discovered June 26.
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.”