Separate fires destroy vehicles, damage residences Saturday morning

MOSES LAKE — Three vehicles were destroyed and a residence was damaged in an early-morning fire in the Dune Lakes area south of Moses Lake Saturday, while a second, separate fire heavily damaged a duplex in the Larson area north of Moses Lake later in the morning. No injuries were reported in either blaze.

The Dune Lakes fire was reported at about 3 a.m. in the 7000 block of Dune Lake Road southeast, said Travis Svilar, battalion chief for Grant County Fire District 5. 

“Prior to the units arriving on scene, (MACC) dispatch had updated us that there were several vehicles on fire, and the structure itself was also involved,” Svilar said. “Once we arrived on scene at the physical address, we had three vehicles on fire, and then the fire had extended into the garage of the structure itself. Units were able to make a great stop with an offensive strategy at the garage, and we were able to confine the fire to the three vehicles and the attached garage of the house.”

The fire started when smoldering debris left from fireworks reignited, he said. The house owners drove to a different location to set off fireworks, cleaned up the site when they left and put the remains of their fireworks in the back of their truck. But the remnants still had unburned flammable materials. 

“Most all fireworks are made of Class A materials, which are usually cardboard and paper. That cardboard and paper of the remnants ended up catching fire in the bed of the truck, then caught that truck on fire, and then it spread to the other two vehicles and the garage,” Svilar said. 

It happens a lot around July 4, he said. 

“We see this every year. We see people putting remnants of their fireworks inside the bed of their truck, the trunk of their car, and they think that they're out, but they're not,” he said. 

The fire in the 8900 block of Westover Boulevard in the Larson area was reported at about 11 a.m. Occupants of both sides of the duplex that caught fire were able to get out and no injuries were reported, Svilar said. 

“(The fire) was initially dispatched as a brush fire,” he said. “Even prior to leaving the station, we were updated that there was a structure involved. Units arrived on scene, and we had heavy fire on the backside of the structure, which extended into the living quarters of one of the units in the duplex.”

Half of the duplex was destroyed; the other half was damaged. 

This fire, too, was a case of reignition, Svilar said.

“One of the tenants was burning some tree limbs and some clippings last night. He thought the fire was out (but) the fire was not properly extinguished. There was just enough wind this morning, which probably contributed to the fire itself reigniting, then spreading to the dry grass around,” he said. “Then the dry grass that was butted up against the house and the other contents and stuff that were on the backside of the house caught fire and ultimately caught the house on fire.”

One person was cited for violating the county’s ban against open fires, he said.