Wildland Fire in rural Mae Valley contained Sunday night

MAE VALLEY — A fast‑moving rangeland fire that scorched an estimated 25 to 30 acres east of Moses Lake was brought under control Sunday evening, according to Grant County Fire District 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar.

Firefighters were dispatched at approximately 5:30 p.m. to Road C NE off North Frontage Road E after a caller reported a weed‑burning project that escaped containment.

When crews arrived, about 10 acres were already burning in heavy sagebrush with a moderate rate of spread, Svilar said.

Units attacked both flanks of the fire to keep it from crossing additional fence lines and spreading into adjacent fields.

“The wind was kind of pushing the fire in the direction we didn’t want it to go,” Svilar said. “But these fires are what we deal with on a year‑to‑year basis… our equipment is meant to handle these off‑road areas of our jurisdiction.”

By 6:30 p.m. firefighters had stopped forward progress and transitioned into mop‑up, cooling hotspots and securing the perimeter.

District 5 requested assistance from the City of Moses Lake Fire Department, which responded with one unit before being released back into service.

One brush truck briefly became stuck in sandy soil — a common issue in the Mae Valley and surrounding areas — but was quickly freed.

“He wasn’t really stuck. Just needed a little bit of help,” Svilar said. 

Overall, Svilar said everything went really well.

“We got here and got the fire contained before it could damage any structures or hop any fences, that’s a success,” he said. 

    Grant County Fire District 5 Battalion Chief Travis Svilar checks on the district's fire dog, Ember, after a fire is contained Sunday.