Othello fire deemed arson, other fires continue statewide
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
Nobody was hurt in an arson-caused fire in Othello, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
COURTESY PHOTO/ACSO
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 20, 2023 1:30 AM
OTHELLO — A fire in Othello was deliberately set Tuesday, according to a statement from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
At a little after 3:30 p.m., the ACSO received a report of a structure fire caused by arson in the 2100 block of West Moon Road in Othello, the statement said. The suspect, later identified as 28-year-old Víctor Jesús Pérez-Villela, fled on foot but was located and apprehended by Othello Police and ACSO deputies. He was taken into custody and booked into jail on charges of second-degree arson.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center:
• Mosquito Lake, about 16 miles northeast of Bellingham, 1.1 acres. Fire discovered July 18. Containment and cost information not available.
• Consalus, about 20 miles north of Newport: 444 acres. Fire discovered June 30. 10% contained. Costs estimated at $10,000,000.
Snider Road, at I-90 near Fishtrap: 520 acres. 45% contained. Cost estimate not available.
• Mountain Loop, about 14 miles northeast of Marysville: 14 acres. Fire discovered July 16. Containment and cost information not available.
• Goodwin, between Vancouver and Camas: 14.5 acres. Fire discovered July 11. Containment and cost information not available.
• 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.
• Tunnel 5, about four miles west of White Salmon: 546 acres. Fire discovered July 2. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $7,000,000.
• Gold Mountain Ridge, about 12 miles northeast of Keller: 28.8 acres. Fire discovered June 29. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $3,000,000.
• Oasis, about seven miles west of Touchet: 4,250 acres. Fire discovered June 19. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $500,000.
• 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.
• Coyote Creek, about 17 miles northwest of Grand Coulee: 1,555 acres. Prescribed burn.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Wahluke Jr. High earns Culture Kick-Off Award again
MATTAWA — Wahluke Junior High School has been honored with the 2025 Culture Kickoff Award for the second year in a row, according to an announcement from the Association of Washington School Leaders and the Association of Washington School Principals.
Moses Lake firefighters meet the community with hot cocoa
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake firefighters held their Christmas community event at ground level this year. “The last few years, we’ve done what we call the campus tour,” said MLFD Battalion Chief Schrade Rouse. “We would put our Santa on top of the truck and ride a neighborhood route so that people could come out and visit with us if they wanted to. But recently we were restricted by (state law) about letting Santa Claus ride on top to the truck. So now we’re trying a stationary (event).”
Women combine talents to open businesses in shared space
MOSES LAKE — Three woman-owned businesses held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening at their new location in Moses Lake Thursday. The office at 815 W. Third Ave. holds an accounting firm, a massage service and a waxing room. “We’re a one-stop shop,” Mandy Schuh said. Schuh is the owner and founder of both Pillar Rock Accounting and Seventh Sense Serenity massage service. As Pillar Rock, she and her assistant Esmeralda Sanchez handle after-the-fact bookkeeping: general bookkeeping, payroll processing and bank and credit card reconciliation. That’s the business people see when they walk in the front door. In a quiet, gently-lit room in the back of the office, Schuh massage services, including Swedish, intraoral massage, myofascial, reflexology and the Japanese technique called Reiki.