Baird Springs fire costs $1.5m, new fires in Pierce, Klickitat counties
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 3 months AGO
The cost of putting out the Baird Springs fire that menaced Crescent Bar and Trinidad last week has been estimated at $1.5 million, according to the NIFC
File photo
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 15, 2023 3:08 PM
QUINCY — The Baird Springs fire is estimated to have cost $1.5 million to extinguish, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The blaze, which sprang up quickly the afternoon of July 10, triggered evacuations in the Crescent Bar and Trinidad communities. There were no injuries and no reported structure damages, but 2,400 acres of grassland were scorched before fire crews pulled out Thursday.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington as of Friday afternoon, according to the NIFC:
• Wagner Road, about 17 miles southeast of Sprague: 1,700 acres. Fire discovered July 12. 75% contained. Estimated costs $200,000.
• Tanwax, about 16 miles southeast of Joint Base Lewis-McChord: 1.5 acres. Fire discovered July 13. Containment and cost information not available.
• Rainbow, at the north end of Lake Chelan: 2.5 acres. Fire discovered July 12. Containment and cost information not available.
• Knight, about five miles northwest of Goldendale: 100 acres. Fire discovered July 13. Containment and cost information not available.
• Tunnel 5, about four miles west of White Salmon: 546 acres. Fire discovered July 2. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $7,000,000.
• Consalus, about 20 miles north of Newport: 292 acres. Fire discovered June 30. 10% contained. Costs estimated at $5,000,000.
• McEwan, about three miles northeast of Shelton: 250 acres. Fire discovered July 4. 85% contained. Costs estimated at $1,850,000.
• OIE Highway, about 10 miles northeast of Prosser: 1,300 acres. Fire discovered July 3. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $75,000.
• Hover Park, three miles southeast of Finley: 528 acres. Fire discovered June 13. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $175,000.
• Ruppert Road, about three miles north of Benton City: 155 acres. Fire discovered June 13. 100% contained. Cost estimated at $100,000.
• Oasis, about seven miles west of Touchet: 4,250 acres. Fire discovered June 19. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $500,000.
• Gold Mountain Ridge, about 12 miles northeast of Keller: 28.8 acres. Fire discovered June 29. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $3,000,000.
• Anderson Road, about seven miles southeast of Morton: 1 acre. Fire discovered July 10. Containment and damage information not available.
• Farnham, about 13 miles west of Mansfield: 76 acres. Fire discovered July 8. Containment and cost information not available.
• Coyote Creek, about 17 miles northwest of Grand Coulee: 1,555 acres. Prescribed burn.
• Canal Road, about 3 miles north of Naches: 1.5 acres. Fire discovered July 11. Containment and cost information not available.
• Goodwin, between Vancouver and Camas: 14.5 acres. Fire discovered July 11. Containment and cost information not available.
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.”