Citation issued in Rocky Ford fire

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man was cited for second-degree reckless burning after sparks from some work he was doing allegedly started a fire about 13 miles north of Moses Lake Monday morning. 

Grant County Fire Marshal Nathan Poplowski said the man and a friend were doing some metalwork and started a small fire, which they extinguished. The friend expressed concern about continuing to work and left, but the man decided to keep working, he said. 

“He started a second fire that got out of his control,” Poplouski said.  

Second-degree reckless burning is a gross misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $5,000 fine and up to a year in jail, Poplowski said.  

The fire was reported at about 11 a.m., and Grant County Fire District 5 Chief Dan Smith said it eventually burned about 10 acres. It also destroyed some derelict vehicles. 

“They appeared to be abandoned RVs out in a field,” Smith said. 

Grant County typically imposes a ban on outdoor burning June 1 and 2026 is no exception. Poplowski said it’s even more critical this year that people observe the ban. 

“It seems to be a little bit drier a little bit earlier this year,” he said. 

In a social media post, Poplowski said there have been 50 wildland fires since the ban went into effect. “That’s an average of over six a day,” he said. 

Eight citations for burn ban violations have been issued since it was put in place, he said. Violators can expect more citations, Poplowski said. 

“We’re encouraging our partners in law enforcement to cite where it’s appropriate for violations of the burn ban,” he said.  

Smith said conditions are very dry already, which is why there’s a ban on open fires. “Those restrictions are there to keep this from happening,” he said. 

In addition to GCFD 5, firefighters responded from Grant County Fire 13, Grant County Fire District 7, the Ephrata Fire Department and the Bureau of Land Management.  

    A wildland fire burned about 10 acres near Rocky Ford Monday.