FIRE UPDATE: Baird Springs fire near Crescent Bar prompts evacuation
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 1 month AGO
The Baird Springs fire west of Quincy sprang up suddenly Monday afternoon, shutting down SR 28 and triggering evacuation warnings.
COURTESY PHOTO/GRANT COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 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 11, 2023 6:12 PM
QUINCY — The Baird Springs fire north of Crescent Bar continues to blaze away, but it’s not spreading, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kyle Foreman. He said a proactive evacuation was implemented in the area to protect residents.
“We were erring on the side of safety,” he said. “It was going to be safer for them and safer for firefighters if we could evacuate Crescent Bar. We proactively evacuated them rather than wait for conditions to worsen, since there's only one road out of Crescent Bar.”
The fire, which started Monday afternoon, had burned 2,400 acres and was 1% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. It triggered level three evacuation notices (“Leave now”) first for the homes north of Baird Springs Road, and then for the Crescent Bar community to the south. Those notices had been downgraded to level 2 (“Be ready to leave if requested”) as of noon Tuesday, according to the GCSO. SR 28 was closed to traffic Monday afternoon and reopened at about midnight. The power was out from midnight to 6 a.m. due to damage to the electrical infrastructure, but there were no injuries or confirmed damaged structures, Foreman said.
State resources have been mobilized to fight the fire, According to a statement from Southeast Washington Incident Management Team 1, which took charge of the effort early Tuesday morning. Federal Emergency Management Agency funds were also released Tuesday morning to help pay for firefighting agencies’ costs in beating the blaze.
The fire was discovered at 3:11 p.m. Monday, according to the NIFC. Thunderstorms the previous night had ignited at least one other fire, and the winds were still blowing hard.
“The winds played a role in spreading the fire very quickly, combined with unburned sagebrush and grasses,” Foreman said. “The force of the wind carried the fire quickly and made the fire grow exponentially.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he said.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center:
• Tunnel 5, about four miles west of White Salmon: 529 acres. Fire discovered July 2. 85% contained.
• Consalus, about 20 miles north of Newport: 186 acres. Fire discovered June 30. 8% contained.
• McEwan, about three miles northeast of Shelton: 232 acres. Fire discovered July 4. 85% contained.
• OIE Highway, about 10 miles northeast of Prosser: 1,300 acres. Fire discovered July 3. 100% contained.
• Moran Creek, about 12 miles northwest of Chewelah: 61 acres. 95% contained.
• Hover Park, three miles southeast of Finley: 528 acres. Fire discovered June 13. 100% contained.
• Ruppert Road, about three miles north of Benton City: 155 acres. Fire discovered June 13. 100% contained.
• Oasis, about seven miles west of Touchet: 4,250 acres. Fire discovered June 19. 100% contained.
• Methow, south end of Wenatchee: 150 acres. Fire discovered June 27. Containment information not available.
• Gold Mountain Ridge, about 12 miles northeast of Keller: 28.8 acres. Fire discovered June 29. 100% contained.
• Bozy Creek, about seven miles east of Elma: 5 acres. Fire discovered July 5. Containment information not available.
• Elfendahl, about 16 miles southwest of Bremerton: 1.5 acres. Fire discovered July 9. Containment information not available.
• Laurel Street, Shelton: 3 acres. Fire discovered July 8. Containment information not available.
• Anderson Road, about seven miles southeast of Morton: 1 acre. Fire discovered July 10. Containment information not available.
• Farnham, about 13 miles west of Mansfield: 76 acres. Fore discovered July 8. Containment information not available.
• Coyote Creek, about 17 miles northwest of Grand Coulee: 1,555 acres. Prescribed burn.
• Pingston, about three miles north of Kettle Falls: 27.5 acres. Fire discovered July 8. Containment information not available.
• Miller Ranch, about six miles northeast of Sprague: 9.8 acres. Fire discovered July 8. Containment information not available.
• Canal Road, about 3 miles north of Naches: 1.5 acres. Fire discovered July 11. Containment information not available.
• Grayback, about 16 miles northwest of Goldendale: 3.5 acres. Fire discovered July 11. Containment information not available.
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.