Late night fire chars waste transfer station in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — A late night fire at a waste transfer station just outside of Moses Lake left a building at the location in ruins.

Grant County Fire District No. 5 Battalion Chief Jack Zeilenga said the fire broke out about 10 p.m. Wednesday evening at the Consolidated Disposal Service, Inc. Transfer Station, located in the 9500 block of Road 7 Northeast.

GCFD No. 5 sent between 9 and 12 apparatus to the scene and the Moses Lake Fire Department provided mutual aid by sending an engine and tender to quell the flames. Zeilenga could not give an exact time for containment of the blaze, but he did say a lot of the garbage in the structure melted together and will have to be broken up on Wednesday before all of the flames are fully stomped out. The building is a complete loss, as are a few vehicles at the location.

Zeilenga could not give an exact cause for the blaze and said the Grant County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating. Consolidated Disposal says the transfer station will be closed for drop-offs, which can now be taken to the Ephrata landfill, which is operated by Grant County, located on Neva Lake Road.  The company told the Columbia Basin Herald garbage pickups will not be impacted.

“We are dedicated to serving the needs of our community and are working (to) get a new transfer station built as soon as possible. While we are devastated by this loss we are thankful that no one was hurt,” stated the company on their Facebook page.

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