Baird Springs fire costs $1.5m, new fires in Pierce, Klickitat counties
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 1 month 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
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.