Moses Lake fire assumed to have taken one life

MOSES LAKE – A residential structure fire late Wednesday night is still under investigation but is assumed to have taken one life.

Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said the 911 call came in just after 1 a.m.

“We had a little bit of wind last night, but fire units as well as deputies were able to see the flames as they were traveling there so it was well involved at the time of the call,” said Foreman.

Four adult occupants of the home, located in the 2900 block of Road D.9 Northeast in Moses Lake, were able to escape but one adult was unaccounted for.

Firefighters were able to put the fire out relatively quickly and start mop-up efforts. By this time, about 3 a.m., the house had partially collapsed and it was not safe for firefighters to go inside to possibly recover the missing person.

Around 6 a.m., Foreman said, firefighters were able to recover a body from inside the home. It’s believed that the body is that of 78-year-old James Johnson of Moses Lake and his next of kin has been notified. The body is in the care of Coroner Craig Morrison whose staff will conduct an autopsy.

The residence was so damaged that Foreman said it looks like the residents will have to start completely over.

“The structure is a total loss and based on heat, smoke and water damage, I would say that the contents were severely damaged,” Foreman said.

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.