Rollover causes large wildfire near Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE — A single vehicle rollover near Soap Lake caused a large wildfire Wednesday.

The vehicle, which was occupied by two unidentified people, reportedly caught on fire after it rolled and came to a stop on the shoulder of the road, with the flames from the car igniting some nearby sagebrush and the fire rapidly spreading down a hillside. The two occupants of the vehicle received minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

SR-17 between Soap Lake and state Route 282 was closed for a number of hours as fire crews from several different fire districts from around Grant County responded to the area to combat the fire. A Level 3 evacuation notice was issued about 2:45 p.m. by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office for about a dozen houses southeast of the 18000 block of SR-17, near the railroad trestle, with the homes quickly evacuated. The fire was declared to be under control by the sheriff’s office about 3:45 p.m., with the evacuation canceled at the same time.

The Grant County PUD reported several of their customers in the Soap Lake area lost power due to the fire impacting a transmission line. The utility stated they were forced to “de-energize” their Soap Lake substation, which left customers in the Soap Lake and Blue Lake areas without power. There were no reported injuries or structures destroyed in the fire.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.