Schawana and Beverly face fire scare
The Saddle Mountain fire appears menacing as it spreads toward Wanapum Dam. The smoke thickened in the evening, causing a travel ban on Highway 243 at midnight.
BEVERLY - Reacting to a fire on Saddle Mountain west of the Columbia River Friday night and Saturday morning, emergency authorities closed Highway 243 in this area and put residents on alert for possible evacuation.
"We thought the wind conditions might cause the fire to jump the river," Grant County Emergency Services spokesman Kyle Foreman said. "We became more concerned when the old Milwaukee Railroad bridge caught fire on the west end."
Grant County Fire District Nos. 10-11 and 8 firefighters stood watch for several hours, but the fire didn't jump. The travel ban on 243, which was ordered at midnight was lifted about noon. So was the level 1 (standby) evacuation alert.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Saddle Mountain Fire had burned about 38,000 acres, according to Dennis Strange, of the Bureau of Land Management. There was growth on the northwest corner of the fire Saturday, which likely added another couple hundred acres burned.
Grant County Fire District 10-11 responded at approximately 9:20 p.m. Friday to a report of the Schawana train trestle on fire and that the fire was moving toward the area of Beverly from across the river. The Vantage area was involved in a large wild land fire that resulted in starting the trestle on fire with high sustained winds.
Several units from Fire District 10 responded to assist Vantage Fire Department with the fast moving fire and to help save homes and structures that were in danger.
On the east side of the river, incident commander Christian Davis said, Fire District 10-11 (Royal City) worked closely with Fire District 8 (Mattawa) to establish a defensive area to keep the fire from spreading to their side of the river.
Command staff worked with the Grant County PUD emergency plan coordinator to ensure that Wanapum and Priest Rapids Dams would have proper notice in the event that they were in any danger.
Firefighters focused on extending hose lines onto the trestle but, due to high winds, would not be positioned on the trestle itself. They also had fire engines and large brush units positioned on Highway 243 to battle any fire under the bridge or in the brush areas with a goal to keep it contained on the far side of the road.
More than 20 firefighters, 3 engines, 4 tenders, one Ambulance, three brush units and one Command Unit responded from Fire District 10-11, Fire District 8 and U.S Fish and Wildlife to help protect the area. Crews stayed in the Beverly area until late morning to ensure its protection.
"Luckily, with the high and unpredictable winds, the fire contained itself to the Kittitas side," Davis said.
At last report, the DNR planned to utilize air support to extinguish the bridge decking.