Ephrata residents injured in rollover near Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE — A Ephrata woman reportedly swerved to avoid hitting an animal on state Route 17 near Soap Lake Wednesday afternoon, which caused her vehicle to roll, erupt into flames and spark a large wildfire.

Alexandria Senn, 38, of Ephrata, was reportedly driving a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am south on state Route 17, about two miles south of Soap Lake, when she swerved to avoid hitting an unknown animal in the middle of the road. Senn’s vehicle rolled and came to a rest on its top and became fully engulfed in flames, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Senn and her passenger, Brenza Mills, 47, of Ephrata, escaped the overturned vehicle before it caught on fire. They were both transported to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata for treatment of minor injuries. The patrol reports the cause of the accident was driver inattention and Senn was cited for driving with her wheels off the road.

The flames from the overturned car ignited some sagebrush near the road, with winds causing the fire to quickly spread down a hillside. SR-17 between Soap Lake and state Route 282 was closed for a number of hours as fire crews from several different fire agencies from around the county responded, which scorched about 200 acres before it was extinguished. There were no reported injuries or structures destroyed by the fire.

A Level 3 evacuation notice was issued for about a dozen houses southeast of the 18000 block of SR-17, near the railroad trestle, about 2:45 p.m. by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The evacuation was canceled about an hour later by the sheriff’s office, with the fire determined to be under control by 3:45 p.m.

The Grant County PUD reported the fire impacted a transmission line and several of their customers were left without power. They stated they were forced to “de-energize” their Soap Lake substation, which left customers in the Soap Lake and Blue Lake areas without power.

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