Saddle Mountain Fire contained

MATTAWA — South County fire departments have experienced or responded to a couple of different fires over the past week. The first fire, named the Saddle Mountain Fire 2020, started Monday, July 6, around 12:30 p.m. on the western end of the Saddle Mountain range. Fire departments from Mattawa, Royal Slope, Hanford, Franklin County, Ephrata and Quincy initially responded to the fire. By Tuesday morning, command of the fire had been handed over to the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team.

As of Sunday evening, the blaze was ruled contained with 8,063 acres burned, according to Trevor Fox, of the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team. As of Monday, crews were still on scene to monitor for hot spots. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Throughout the course of the fire, over 200 firefighting personnel from across the region were deployed to the area. Four aircraft were sent initially to assist in containing the blaze, dropping flame retardant, as well as an eight-person smokejumper team deployed on the mountaintop to survey the fire, according to fire officials.

“Having the quick air resources, that was helpful,” Fox said.

Crews worked with a wildlife biologist to preserve the habitat of the Washington ground squirrel, a protected species that lives in the area. This included using lighter equipment than would normally be used to create containment lines.

No structures were harmed or evacuation orders made.

On Saturday, July 11, a fire along Old Vantage Highway north of Interstate 90 prompted the Grant County Sheriff’s Office to issue an evacuation order to climbers and campers in the area.

According to fire officials at Grant County Fire District No. 3, the fire started by the road and was contained at 38 acres. Firefighters from Grant County Fire District No. 3, as well as crews from Royal Slope and the Bureau of Land Management responded to the fire. Crews were still on the scene, through, Monday evening. The fire was on both private property and Bureau of Land Management lands. While a group of structures were threatened, nothing was damaged.

Charles H. Featherstone and Emry Dinman contributed to this report.