FIRE REPORT: Ephrata area fire shuts down SR 17
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 3 months AGO
The charred ground is all that remains of the fast-growing – and fast-extinguished – Marksman Road Fire that closed SR 17 near Ephrata Tuesday.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
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 5, 2024 3:10 AM
EPHRATA — The Marksman Road fire, which blazed up quickly east of Ephrata on Tuesday and closed State Route 17 for a time, was contained quickly thanks to a lot of interagency cooperation, according to Grant County Fire District 13 Chief Jim Stucky.
“It was a fast-moving and pretty intense fire,” Stucky said. “It started at the gun range … and then traveled toward Highway 17 at a pretty rapid pace. We were able to get it under control before it crossed over 17. They did a little backburn with help from District 7 and basically all of Grant County. We called an all-call to come help us out.”
Agencies pitching in included Grant County fire districts 7, 5, 3, 4 and 12, as well as the Ephrata and Moses Lake fire departments, Soap Lake and Ephrata police and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
The fire started at about 6 p.m. and was fully contained by 6:45, according to a statement from GCFD 13. State Route 17 was closed until about 8 p.m. while firefighters worked alongside the road.
The fire burned 317 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Stucky said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
The 4,758-acre Pioneer Fire on the eastern shore of Lake Chelan was 14% contained Tuesday at 4,820 acres, according to the NIFC. The cause was undetermined, and suppression costs were estimated at $35 million.
The Joe Barker Fire, which popped up Tuesday in northern Walla Walla County about 43 miles northeast of Pasco, was discovered a little before 8 a.m. and appeared to have been contained at 30 acres by noon, but went active again and spread to 60 acres by afternoon.
These other fires were also burning in Washington Tuesday, according to the NIFC:
• The 1980 Slide Ranch Fire, discovered June 22 about 20 miles southwest of Yakima, was 90% contained Tuesday at 3,103 acres. The fire was human-caused, and costs were estimated at $4 million.
• The Dearinger Fire about 40 miles northeast of Everett was 80% contained Tuesday at 48 acres. The costs were estimated at $960,000.
• The Diamondback Ridge Fire, near Zillah in the Yakima Valley, had burned 300 acres since its discovery May 17. Cost and containment information was not available.
• The Gold Creek Fire, discovered June 22 in the Methow Valley about 31 miles southwest of Omak, was fully contained at 278 acres Tuesday, Costs were estimated at $1.7 million. The cause of the blaze was undetermined.
• The Mutual Aid 20151 Fire, discovered June 27 just a few miles southwest of Clarkston, remained at 50 acres Tuesday. Cost and containment information was not yet available.
• The Neff Road Fire, discovered June 15 about 20 miles northeast of Pasco, remained at 250 acres Tuesday. It was fully contained and costs were estimated at $5,000.
• The River View Fire, discovered June 7 about 3 miles north of Yakima, remained at 10 acres Tuesday. The fire was caused by human activity. Information about containment and cost was not available.
• The Seven Dairy Spring Fire, discovered June 30 in Lincoln County about 20 miles northeast of Odessa, held steady at 28.3 acres Tuesday. Cost and containment information was not available.
• The South Fork Fire, about 35 miles west of Yakima, had burned about 27 acres since its discovery June 27. The cause was natural. Costs were estimated at $1 million.
Prescribed burns were underway at the Niles Sno-Park on SR 410 between Yakima and Mount Rainier, near the Beehive reservoir south of Wenatchee and at Rothrock Ridge north of Wenatchee.
Other fires are reported throughout the state have burned less than 10 acres and are not included in this report. The majority are less than 1 acre.
Air quality was good across Washington state Tuesday, according to the website AirNow, which is operated by a consortium of government agencies. The Air Quality Index, or AQI, was forecast to be good the rest of the week.
Joel Martin may be reached by email at [email protected].
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
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