Fire report for June 28, 2023
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 3 months AGO
Grant County Fire District 7 recently converted this military vehicle to a brush engine, according to a statement from the fire district. The truck was called into service the same day.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCFD 7
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. | June 28, 2023 1:00 AM
WENATCHEE — State fire assistance has been mobilized under the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan in support of local firefighters working to contain the Methow Fire just outside Wenatchee, according to a statement from the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Methow Fire started Tuesday at approximately 1:25 p.m., according to the statement. This fire was estimated at 50 acres and growing as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. It is burning in shrub-streppe and is threatening homes and natural resources, the statement said. Level 2 evacuations are in effect at this time and the fire cause is currently under investigation, according to the statement.
These wildfires were also burning in Washington as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Satellite and Product Operations:
• Drumheller, between Moses Lake and Ephrata: 929 acres. Fire started June 14. 25% contained.
• Oasis, about seven miles west of Touchet: 4,250 acres. Fire started June 19. 100% contained.
• South Satus, about 14 miles southeast of Toppenish: 997 acres. Fire started June 13. 100% contained.
• Hansen Road, about one mile south of Benton City: 6,289 acres. Fire started June 13. 100% contained.
• Ruppert Road, about three miles north of Benton City: 155 acres. Fire started June 13. 100% contained.
• Hover Park, three miles southeast of Finley: 528 acres. Fire started June 13. 100% contained.
• Sutherland, about 10 miles west of Port Angeles: 108 acres. Fire started June 17. 90% contained.
• Old Naches, about one mile southeast of Naches: 645 acres. Fire started June 7. 0% contained.
• Pete’s Creek, nine miles northwest of Pateros: 6 acres. Fire started June 25. Containment information not available.
• Marietta, Spokane Valley: 2 acres. Fire started June 27. Containment information not available.
• Catherine Creek, 10 miles northwest of Curlew: 1 acre. Fire started June 27. Containment 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.”