Fire report: New blaze flares up on Hanford Reservation
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 4 months AGO
All evacuation orders for the Grove Fire, which sprang up west of Spokane Tuesday, have been downgraded.
Courtesy photo/Spokane County Fire District 3
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 13, 2024 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — A wildfire kindled suddenly Wednesday morning on the Hanford Reservation, and was estimated at 150 acres at a little after 2 p.m., according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Dubbed the Cold Creek Fire, the blaze about 24 miles northwest of Richland was caused by human activity, according to the NIFC.
The 693-acre Palisades Road Fire about 9 miles north of Quincy was 75% contained Wednesday, according to the NIFC. Costs were estimated at $95,000.
The Grove Fire west of Spokane was reevaluated at 75 acres Wednesday, and evacuation notices for most areas had been downgraded to level 1, according to Spokane County Fire District 3. A few areas still had level 2 (be ready to leave) notices.
These other fires were also burning in Washington Wednesday, according to the NIFC:
• The Pioneer Fire on Lake Chelan about 30 miles northwest of Wenatchee had grown to 672 acres Wednesday. The cause was undetermined. The fire was uncontained and suppression costs are estimated at $10 million.
• The Quake Fire, discovered June 11 just west of Kennewick, had burned 10 acres Wednesday. The cause was unknown and cost and containment information was not available.
• The River View Fire, discovered June 7 about 3 miles north of Yakima, held steady at 10 acres Wednesday. The fire was caused by human activity. Information about containment and cost was not available.
• The Stetson Fire, about 9 miles north of Yakima, was discovered May 19 and remained at 10 acres Wednesday. The blaze was human-caused, and containment and cost information was not available.
A few other fires are reported throughout the state but have burned less than 10 acres and are not included in this report. The majority are less than 1 acre.
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
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.”