FIRE REPORT: GCFD 7 knocks down fireworks fire
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 1 month AGO
Fireworks were to blame for a fire near Soap Lake late Wednesday night.
GCFD 7 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, 2024 12:20 AM
SOAP LAKE — Fireworks sparked a wildfire late Wednesday night, according to a statement from Grant County Fire District 7.
At about 11:10 p.m., firefighters were called to a vegetation fire at Road 19 and Division Road, according to the statement. There they found a fire spreading at a moderate rate through light, flashy fuels. The first arriving brush engine made an aggressive attack and the fire was contained to 3.12 acres. Crews remained on the scene until 3:30 a.m. mopping up.
Some progress had been made Wednesday containing the Pioneer Fire burning along the eastern shore of Lake Chelan. It was 17% contained at 13,492 acres Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
These other fires were also burning in Washington on Thursday, according to the NIFC:
• The 507 fire about 16 miles southeast of Olympia was discovered July 9 and remained at 10.4 acres Friday. 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 Friday at 3,166 acres. The fire was human-caused, and costs were estimated at $4 million.
• The Arboretum Fire in Yakima, discovered July 10, was at 10 acres Friday. The cause was undetermined, and cost and containment information were not yet available.
• The Balsam Root Fire on the northwest outskirts of Wenatchee was fully contained Friday 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 Friday. Costs were estimated at $1.7 million. The cause of the blaze was undetermined.
• The Joe Barker Fire, discovered July 3 in northern Walla Walla County about 43 miles northeast of Pasco, was fully contained Friday at 1,436 acres. Suppression costs were estimated at $30,000.
• The Middle Mountain Fire, discovered July 4 about 34 miles northeast of Grand Coulee, was fully contained at 14.2 acres Friday. Costs were estimated at $3 million. The cause was reported to be natural.
• The Mutual Aid 20151 Fire, discovered June 27 a few miles southwest of Clarkston, remained at 50 acres Friday. Cost and containment information was not yet available and the cause was undetermined.
• The Red Wolf Fire across the Snake River from Clarkston remained at 15 acres Friday. Cost and containment information were not yet available.
• The Road 11 Fire burning about 12 miles southwest of Mansfield remained fully contained Friday 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 Friday. 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 Friday, and had been remapped at 101 acres. The cost of suppressing the blaze was estimated at $10 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 moderate Friday in southern Grant and western Adams counties, but good everywhere else in the Basin, according to the website AirNow, which is operated by a consortium of government agencies.
Joel Martin may be reached by email at [email protected].
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.