Garred Road Fire sees no growth, two other local fires contained
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months, 1 week 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. | June 25, 2026 3:55 PM
COULEE CITY — Fire crews are still working on containing the Garred Road Fire, near Coulee City, which has seen very little growth, remaining at nearly 3,400 acres and is around 61 percent contained as of Thursday afternoon.
According to the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team, crews are continuing to work on mop up Thursday. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for a large portion of Washington until 9 p.m. tonight, with winds expected.
“Safety of crews, residents and protection or property remain top priorities,” Southeast Washington Incident Management Team wrote in a statement. “Please use caution while traveling in the fire area, specifically Highway 17. Crews will continue working and traveling on that roadway throughout the day.”
At around 3:30 p.m., Grant County Fire District 12 was dispatched to the Black Rock Fire near Wilson Creek and Odessa, which burned around 350 acres.
GCFD 12 requested state assistance with the blaze at around 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Washington State Fire Marshal. A strike and supervision team were sent to East Grant County Wednesday night.
The fire was fully contained as of 4 a.m. Thursday morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Then, at about 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, Adams County Fire District 2 firefighters were dispatched to a fire, the Schrag Fire, at a farm residence on Schrag Road at milepost 194 of the eastbound lanes of I-90, GCFD 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar said.
As of 6:30 p.m., the fire had grown to 120 acres. ACFD 2 called for mutual aid from neighboring departments and for air support, Svilar said. Two scooper planes and two helicopters were on the scene.
The fire’s forward progress to the east was stopped by 6 p.m., Svilar said. The freeway remained open the entire time.
The home was unoccupied, according to bystanders, and county records show a different address for the property owner. Four structures were lost, Svilar said. The cause of the fire was unknown.
“There’s a fire weather watch issued through tomorrow,” Svilar said. “We were expecting (fires)… We realize that we’re about a month, month and a half ahead of schedule for fire season, but it’s here.”
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, as of Thursday, in the northwest there have been around 733 fires reported and around 57,000 acres burnt.
Across the nation, there have been nearly 35,100 fires and around 2.9 million acres scorched.
Active blazes:
4170 Tule Rd Fire: 24,180 acres. 95% contained. Started June 14. Yakima County. Undetermined cause. Estimated cost of $7.5 million.
Garred Road Fire: 3,369 acres. 61% contained. Started June 21. Human caused. Estimated cost of $4.9 million.
Kartar Fire: 11,746 acres. 95% contained. Started June 16. Okanogan County. Human caused. Estimated cost $10 million.
Tucannon Fire: 8,069 acres. 94% contained. Started June 16. Columbia County. Undetermined cause. Estimated cost of $750,000.
Upriver Fire: 213 acres. 85% contained. Started June 16. Spokane County. Human caused. Estimated cost of $3.7 million.
Fires contained this week:
Black Rock Fire: 350 acres. Started June 24. Grant County. Undetermined cause. No estimated cost available.
Mt. Toms Creek Fire: 86 acres. Started June 24. Jefferson County. Undetermined cause. No estimated cost is available.
Schrag Fire: 82.8 acres. 100% contained. Adams County. Unknown cause. Unknown cost.
Snake River: 686 acres. Started June 20. Asotin County. Undetermined cause. Estimated cost of $400,000.
Wagon Wheel Fire: 319 acres. Started June 23. Benton County. Human caused. No cost is available.
SOURCES: INCIWEB, NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER, WATCHDUTY, AIRNOW.
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.