Fire report: Burn barrel triggers wildfire near Ephrata
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 3 weeks AGO
A burn barrel ignited a 10-acre wildfire Monday southwest of Ephrata. Burn barrels are illegal in Washington and have been since 2000.
COURTESY PHOTO/GRANT COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 13
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. | May 21, 2024 5:20 PM
EPHRATA — A 10-acre wildfire started Monday evening after an unsupervised burn barrel spread to nearby vegetation in the area of Naylor Junction, southwest of Ephrata, according to a statement from Grant County Fire District 13. A quick response had the wind-driven fire contained within 20 minutes of the call, but mopping up took two-plus hours for 10 trucks. Nothing was damaged, although if the fire had gone unreported or unchecked several minutes longer property damage would have likely resulted, the district wrote.
Burn barrels have been illegal in Washington since 2000, according to GCFD 13, whether they’re attended or not.
These other wildfires were burning around Washington Tuesday afternoon:
• The Page Road Fire, discovered Sunday, held steady Tuesday 150 acres about 19 miles northeast of Pasco, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The cause of the blaze was unknown, and containment information was not available.
• The Monument Fire, discovered Sunday at Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River about 10 miles east of Pasco, was at 80 acres Tuesday. The cause was undetermined and no containment information was available.
• The Diamondback Ridge Fire, about 17 miles southeast of Yakima near Zillah, was discovered about 11:30 a.m. Friday and held steady at 300 acres Tuesday. The cause was unknown, and containment information was not yet available.
• The Moxee Valley fire, discovered May 16 just southeast of Yakima, had burned 20 acres Tuesday. The cause was unknown and containment information was not available.