Blaze in south Grant County chars 5,294 acres
Grant County Sheriff's Office/courtesy photo Fire personel assemble at one of the divisions of the Lower Crab Creek Fire.
BEVERLY — A fire in south Grant County burned 5,294 acres over the weekend and prompted the mobilization of state resources to help fight the blaze
The fire, dubbed the “Lower Crab Creek Fire,” started about 8 p.m. Friday night near Beverly and picked up steam Saturday morning, requiring mutual aid from fire districts around Grant County. The fire reportedly burned mainly sage and grass in areas of steep terrain on the north side of the Saddle Mountains, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
A Level 2 evacuation notice was issued by the sheriff’s office about 7:50 a.m. Saturday morning for people living in the Smyrna community, south of Royal City. The notice was upgraded to a Level 3, which indicated people were in immediate danger and urged to evacuate their homes as soon as possible, about 8:15 a.m on Saturday.
Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized the mobilization of state fire resources about 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, per the request of Grant County Fire District No. 8 Chief David Patterson and Grant County Fire District No. 10 Chief Eric Linn, to aid crews combating the blaze. Mobilization specialists from the Fire Protection Bureau ordered four wildland task forces and the state Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Camp Murray was activated to a Level 2 to coordinate assistance from the state to fight the fire. In addition, state Fire Marshal personnel were dispatched to the scene to coordinate resources and to staff the state EOC.
Royal City High School was opened up to fire evacuees Saturday night, but the sheriff’s office stated no evacuees sought out assistance. Crews were able to make significant progress fighting the fire Saturday night and Sunday morning and began constructing a primary containment line. Initial estimates put the size of the fire at about 10,000 acres Saturday night, but that number was later updated thanks to high quality mapping on Sunday morning that put it’s size at 5,924 acres.
All evacuation notices were canceled about 10 a.m. Sunday morning. There have been no reported injuries from the fire or structures destroyed. Neither the updated size of the fire or its containment percentage was released as of press time on Sunday.
Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.
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