120-acre fire burns structures by I-90

MOSES LAKE — Nobody was harmed in a wildfire alongside Interstate 90 Wednesday afternoon, according to Grant County Fire District 5. 

At about 3:45 p.m., Adams County Fire District 2 firefighters were dispatched to a fire, dubbed the Schrag Fire, at a farm residence on Schrag Road at milepost 194 of the eastbound lanes of I-90, GCFD 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar said. As of 6:30 p.m., the fire had grown to 120 acres. ACFD 2 called for mutual aid from neighboring departments and for air support, Svilar said. Two scooper planes and two helicopters were on the scene. 

The fire’s forward progress to the east was stopped by 6 p.m., Svilar said.

Warm, dry weather and winds have exacerbated a number of fires in the last couple of weeks, including a vegetation fire that sprang up in the Black Rock area of Grant County near Road 13 and Road V Northeast about an hour after the Schrag Fire. That fire was contained and in mop-up by 6:46, according to radio traffic. 

“There’s a fire weather watch issued through tomorrow,” Svilar said. “So we were expecting (fires) …  We realize that we’re about a month, month and a half ahead of schedule for fire season, but it’s here.” 

    The Schrag Fire east of Moses Lake destroyed several unoccupied structures Wednesday afternoon.