South county wildfire destroys four buildings
Grant County Sheriff’s Office/courtesy graphic The red outlined section on the map shows the area that was burned during Sunday’s wildfire.
SCHWANA — A large wildfire destroyed four buildings in southern Grant County in the town of Schwana on Sunday.
Grant County Fire District 8, 10 and 11 responded to the wildfire report on the west side of state Route 243. The blaze burned at least one structure, which the Grant County Sheriff’s Office reports was a temporary residence, and three non-residential buildings. A number of other homes and buildings were threatened but did not sustain fire-related damages.
Level 3 evacuation notices were put into place Sunday night and into Monday morning for several residences in the Schwana area. Level 3 evacuation notices indicate there is immediate fire danger and people need to leave the area as soon as possible. The evacuation notices were canceled when fire crews contained the fire and kept it from jumping SR-243.
“Assisting on this fire were Grant PUD linemen, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol and Washington Department of Transportation. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Grant County Fire Marshal. A countywide burn ban is in effect from June 1 through September 30 annually,” stated the sheriff’s office on Monday.
There was no reported injuries in the fire. An exact amount on the acreage burned in the blaze was not disclosed.
Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.