FIRE REPORT: Ruby Fire still uncontained in North Cascades
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 1 month AGO
A firefighter starts a pump for a sprinkler system at Colonial Creek South Campground on Tuesday in the fight to extinguish the Ruby Fire in Whatcom County.
COURTESY PHOTO/ERIC KIEHN/INCIWEB
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. | September 13, 2024 1:00 AM
TWISP — Crews continued to battle the Ruby Fire about 49 miles northwest of Twisp Thursday afternoon, according to the National Park Service. The fire, which started Aug. 9, was uncontained Thursday at 1,300 acres. Helicopters dropped water Tuesday from Diablo Lake on the blaze but had to discontinue activity Wednesday due to weather conditions. Firefighters will continue to focus on protecting critical infrastructure such as campgrounds, SR 20, trails, and backcountry camps in preparation for possible fire growth, the NPS wrote. Costs were estimated at $5 million, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Largest active Washington fires:
Pioneer Fire – Washington’s largest wildfire. 38,730 acres. 23% containment. Began around 1 p.m. June 8. Located 10 miles southeast of Stehekin. Costs are estimated at $105 million.
Cougar Creek Fire – Washington’s second-largest fire. 24,091 acres. 100% contained. Blazed up at 8 p.m. July 15. Located south of Walla Walla. Costs estimated at $35 million.
Williams Mine Fire – Washington’s third-largest wildfire – 13,057 acres. 31% contained. Started noon Aug. 5. Located near Mount Adams Wilderness in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Costs are estimated at $35 million.
There were no new wildfires in Washington on Thursday.
Other fires:
Bauer Coulee Fire – 1,600 acres. Started Aug. 27 about 15 miles west of Ritzville. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $100,000.
Beaver Canyon Fire – 80 acres. 100% contained. Started at 11:52 a.m. Monday, 22 miles east of Oroville.
Blewett Fire – 15 acres. 99% containment. Started 2:23 p.m. Sept. 4. near Blewett Pass. Costs estimated at $800,000.
Brown Fire – 250 acres. Started at 2:39 p.m. Tuesday. Near Brown Gulch Road in Garfield County. Containment and cost information not available.
Easy Fire – 2,130 acres. 39% containment. Began 8 p.m. July 17. Located 17 miles west of Mazama along North Cascades Scenic Highway. Costs estimated at $15 million.
Huckleberry Ridge Fire – 301 acres. 52% containment. Started on Sept. 4. Located about 25 miles northwest of Longview.
Miners Complex Fires – 1,098 acres. 0% containment. Began on July 17. Located 21 miles east of Darrington. Costs estimated at $500,000.
Pincer Two Fire – 211 acres. 0% containment. Began on July 18. Located 1 mile east of Mineral Park. Costs estimated at $500,000.
Shoofly Fire – 104 acres. 91% contained. Ignited on July 8. Located 9 miles north of Stevens Pass. Costs estimated at $10 million.
Swauk Creek Fire – 100 acres. 3% contained. Started on Sunday at 3:34 p.m. 17 miles northwest of Ellensburg. Costs are 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.
The Columbia Basin’s wildfire danger continues to be very high. The Grant County Sheriff’s office has asked area residents to be careful with anything that could cause a wildfire.
Air quality was good Thursday for the Columbia Basin.
SOURCES: InciWeb/NIFC/WildCAD/AirNow
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.”