Wildland Fire in rural Mae Valley contained Sunday night
NANCE BESTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 3 weeks AGO
A fire on Road C NE is being contained by Grant County Fire District 5 at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. It burnt around 25-30 acres.
NANCE BESTON/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Grant County Fire District 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar checks on the district's fire dog, Ember, after a fire is contained Sunday.
MAE VALLEY — A fast‑moving rangeland fire that scorched an estimated 25 to 30 acres east of Moses Lake was brought under control Sunday evening, according to Grant County Fire District 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar.
Firefighters were dispatched at approximately 5:30 p.m. to Road C NE off North Frontage Road E after a caller reported a weed‑burning project that escaped containment.
When crews arrived, about 10 acres were already burning in heavy sagebrush with a moderate rate of spread, Svilar said.
Units attacked both flanks of the fire to keep it from crossing additional fence lines and spreading into adjacent fields.
“The wind was kind of pushing the fire in the direction we didn’t want it to go,” Svilar said. “But these fires are what we deal with on a year‑to‑year basis… our equipment is meant to handle these off‑road areas of our jurisdiction.”
By 6:30 p.m. firefighters had stopped forward progress and transitioned into mop‑up, cooling hotspots and securing the perimeter.
District 5 requested assistance from the City of Moses Lake Fire Department, which responded with one unit before being released back into service.
One brush truck briefly became stuck in sandy soil — a common issue in the Mae Valley and surrounding areas — but was quickly freed.
“He wasn’t really stuck. Just needed a little bit of help,” Svilar said.
Overall, Svilar said everything went really well.
“We got here and got the fire contained before it could damage any structures or hop any fences, that’s a success,” he said.
Grant County Fire District 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar checks on the district's fire dog, Ember, after a fire is contained Sunday.ARTICLES BY NANCE BESTON
GCFD 7 EMS levy appears headed for approval
Voters back funding increase for staffing, ambulance service
SOAP LAKE — Grant County Fire District 7's replacement Emergency Medical Services levy appeared headed for approval Wednesday after preliminary election results showed voters supporting the measure by a comfortable margin. As of the Nov. 10 ballot count, Proposition No. 1 received 914 “yes” votes, or 59.47%, compared to 623 “no” votes, or 40.53%. Election results remain unofficial until certification Nov. 24. The measure would replace the district's existing EMS levy and increase the rate from 25 cents to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for six years beginning in 2027.
Ballot processing continues as certification approaches
EPHRATA — Election officials in Grant and Adams counties are nearing the finish line of the 2026 general election, with certification scheduled for Nov. 24 and most ballots already processed. According to the Washington Secretary of State's latest election data as of Nov. 9, Grant County had an estimated 1,800 ballots left to count, while Adams County had approximately 200 ballots remaining. In Grant County, 29,070 ballots were returned, resulting in a turnout rate of 54.7%, according to Grant County Elections Coordinator Rebecca Pettingill. While slightly below the county's final turnout of 57.34% in the 2022 general election, Pettingill said the numbers are largely in line with expectations. “I would say it's pretty average,” Pettingill said. “It's looking pretty good.”
Paraeducator Career Fair planned for next week to help fill support roles at MLSD
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District is hoping to fill around 20 open paraeducator positions through a hiring event later this month. It's designed to connect prospective employees directly with school administrators, teachers and human resources staff.