FIRE REPORT: Moses Lake sends crews to Lake Chelan fire
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 3 months AGO
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 11, 2024 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Pioneer Fire burning along the eastern shore of Lake Chelan is still growing, and was at 12,265 acres Wednesday, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Containment remained at 14%. The fire, which has been burning since June 8, is being fought by 818 personnel, including six firefighters from the Moses Lake Fire Department, according to MLFD spokesperson Heather Kok.
“We have one firefighter that's been up there since the 26th of June,” Kok said Wednesday. “We have two firefighters who have been offering medical support since the 29th of June, and then we just sent another crew of three up yesterday.”
A fire sprang up in the steep ground overlooking the Snake River outside Clarkston in southeastern Washington on Tuesday afternoon. The fire, dubbed the Red Wolf Fire, was quickly brought under control with aircraft, as many parts of the terrain were inaccessible to firefighters on the ground. The blaze was fully contained Wednesday at 10 acres.
“Fire managers stated (that) without the quick help from (Clarkston-based helicopter service) Leading Aviation, the fire could have (run) up the hill and consumed thousands of acres,” Asotin County Fire District No. 1 wrote in a statement. “The very skilled pilots were hitting flames with water, while maneuvering around high voltage power lines.”
These other fires were also burning in Washington on Wednesday, according to the NIFC:
• The 507 fire about 16 miles southeast of Olympia was discovered Tuesday afternoon and had grown to 10 acres Wednesday. The cause was human activity, but cost and containment information were unavailable.
• The 1980 Slide Ranch Fire, discovered June 22 about 20 miles southwest of Yakima, was 99% contained Tuesday at 3,166 acres. The fire was human-caused, and costs were estimated at $4 million.
• The Balsam Root Fire on the northwest outskirts of Wenatchee was fully contained Wednesday at 305 acres. Suppression costs were estimated at $446,859.
• The Gold Creek Fire, discovered June 22 in the Methow Valley about 31 miles southwest of Omak, remained fully contained at 278 acres Wednesday. Costs were estimated at $1.7 million. The cause of the blaze was undetermined.
• The Joe Barker Fire in northern Walla Walla County about 43 miles northeast of Pasco, was discovered July 3. It was fully contained at 1,436 acres and suppression costs were estimated at $30,000.
• The Middle Mountain Fire about 34 miles northeast of Grand Coulee was discovered July 4 and was 80% contained at 14.2 acres Wednesday. Costs were estimated at $3 million. The cause was reported to be natural.
• The Morgan Lake Fire in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge was discovered July 3 and remained at 120 acres Wednesday. Cost and containment information was not available.
• The Mutual Aid 20151 Fire, discovered June 27 just a few miles southwest of Clarkston, remained at 50 acres Wednesday. Cost and containment information was not yet available and the cause was undetermined.
• The Road 11 Fire burning about 12 miles southwest of Mansfield was fully contained Wednesday at 840 acres. Costs were estimated at $209,000.
• The Sand Flat Fire about 2 miles northeast of Omak was discovered July 4 and remained at 120 acres Wednesday. The cause was undetermined and cost and containment information was not available.
• The Shoofly Fire in the Cascades about 45 miles northwest of Wenatchee was still uncontained Wednesday at 125 acres. Estimated cost was $1 million.
Other fires 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 in Grant and Adams counties Wednesday, according to the website AirNow, which is operated by a consortium of government agencies.
Joel Martin may be reached by email at [email protected].
A helicopter drops a load of water on the Red Wolf Fire along the Snake River near Clarkston.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.”