Thousands of acres torched in two Grant county blazes

Wildland fires burn homes, fields

GRANT COUNTY — Just one day after record high temperatures scorched the Columbia Basin, two major wildland fires singed central Grant County Wednesday, the biggest burning more than 5,000 acres east of Ephrata.

The main fire began along Highway 17 and destroyed one mobile home and threatened several others to the east. A second blaze west of the highway on Neppel Road gutted two homes, burned several outbuildings, and blackened about 1,000 acres, according to authorities. No major injuries were reported as of press time.

Personnel from as many as five fire jurisdictions worked through the night to control the largest near Trout Lodge Road, as high winds whipped through the grass fields. A total of 60 firefighters and a state Department of Natural Resources helicopter battled the 5,000-acre blaze for 13 hours, with crews still on scene through the night and into Thursday morning.

"These are the first big fires of the year, and the fourth hasn't even started," remarked Ephrata Fire Department Capt. Kevin Davis.

"This was the largest wildland any of us can recall in this area," said Ephrata Fire Department Battalion Chief Kyle Foreman. "We had to overcome some very difficult challenges."

Impassable terrain, mostly large boulders, hampered crews' access to the fires. Winds pushed the larger fire eastward from the mobile home at 13085 Highway 17, approximately 7 miles east of Ephrata where the fire started around 2:30 p.m., to Trout Lodge Road where firefighters worked to prevent it from jumping the road.

"We had some very skillful firefighters on hand who were able to pull off this tactic," said Foreman. "This was a great combined effort by everyone involved."

Foreman said firefighters took a stand at Trout Lodge Road, conducting a "backburn" operation. The backburn, he said, eliminated the fire's fuel of grass and sage brush south of Trout Lodge Road.

Once the fire was contained at Trout Lodge Road, he said, firefighters focused on protecting several homes south of the road near Rocky Ford Creek. A fish hatchery in the area was also threatened, but officials reported no damage Wednesday morning.

Grant County Fire Marshal Dave Nelson determined the cause of the 5,000-acre blaze to be an illegal burn barrel left unattended by the occupants of the destroyed mobile home along Highway 17.

The resident, Tracy Wertz, said the fire started near his corral, eventually blackening half the adjacent mobile home. All five family members and their animals escaped without injury, he said.

"It gutted the first half of the house and everything got trashed," Wertz said.

Firefighters and equipment from the City of Ephrata, Grant County fire districts No. 3, 5, 7 and 13 along with the DNR's helicopter fought the blaze until 2 a.m. today.

Many of the firefighters and equipment joined in battling the larger blaze, after extinguishing the fire on Neppel Road fire about 10 miles away.

Grant County Fire District No. 5 crews initially responded to the fire on Neppel Road at about 11:40 a.m. which demolished two structures and several outbuildings. Grant County Fire District No. 5 Chief Roger Hansen said crews were still mopping up the Neppel Road fire when they were called to assist in the second blaze.

Nelson determined the Neppel Road blaze, which also began after a burn barrel was left unoccupied, consumed about 1,000 acres.

"Burn barrels are illegal, period," Nelson said, citing state Department of Ecology rules. "Citations will probably be issued."