Fire burns 500 acres near Ephrata

Four homes threatened

EPHRATA — Firefighters from all over Grant County rushed to Ephrata to get control of a wildfire that exploded to 500 acres over a matter of hours Monday.

The fire was contained Monday evening.

Sam Lorenz, with Grant County Department of Emergency Management, said the fire started around 12:30 p.m. when a person called 911 to report it.

At the time the fire sparked, winds were blowing between 10 and 15 miles per hour, fueling the fire that sparked in the middle of dry brush near Beasley Hill.

The fire posed a threat to four homes in the area.

Crews from Moses Lake and Soap Lake helped make up the 40 or 50 firefighters from Ephrata and across Grant County putting out the fire.