Wildfire prompts emergency proclamation

EPHRATA - Last week's wildfire near the Grant and Douglas county line prompted the largest response in Grant County history and a emergency declaration from county commissioners.

Grant County Fire District No. 13 Chief Shane Heston said the 1,045 acre fire near Palisades and Sagebrush Flats Roads on Wednesday "was the biggest county mobilization that has ever occurred," meaning every firefighter in Grant County and some in other agencies were asked to respond, he said.

"We called in everybody and they all showed up," Heston said, adding that 22 members of Grant County Fire District No. 13 and members of 14 other agencies responded to help battle the blaze.

According to the Central Washington Interagency Coordination Center, no homes were burned and nobody was evacuated during the fire. The nearest neighborhood was the Rimrock Meadows community.

The emergency proclamation opens the door for Grant County to be reimbursed for money spent responding to the wildfire, Grant County Emergency Management Director Robert Schneider said.

Schneider said the proclamation is similar to one signed by Gov. Jay Inslee proclaiming the Oso area an emergency after a landslide earlier this year.

Schneider and Heston said they are still crunching the numbers to see how much responding to the fire cost Grant County. Schneider said when wildfires are prevalent in the state, like this year, the state fund that repays counties for costs incurred could go dry and the county may not get fully compensated for their efforts.

"All we can do is to ask," Schneider said.

Firefighters from Grant County Fire Districts 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, Adams County, Douglas County, Bureau of Land Management, Washington Department of Natural Resources and Ephrata Fire Department responded to the wildfire.