Fire near Japanese Peace Garden
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 2 weeks AGO
A fire burned a section of the shore of the wetland that borders the Japanese Peace Garden in Moses Lake Friday morning.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | March 20, 2026 10:31 AM
UPDATE: The fire was extinguished after about two hours, according to a press release from the MLFD. It burned about two acres along the shoreline of Vehrs Wetland Park and damaged the park's observation dock. No injuries were reported.
Nearby residences, the Japanese garden and its adjoining park on East Seventh Avenue were not damaged. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
MOSES LAKE — As of 10:15 a.m. Friday, Moses Lake Fire Department firefighters were on the scene of a wildland fire at the intersection of South Division Street and East Seventh Avenue, in the vicinity of the Japanese Peace Garden. The fire was reported about 9:19 a.m., according to the MLFD. The fire was burning along the shore of the wetland that borders the park.
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