FIRE REPORT: Local fire causes road closure, lightning storm causes 9 WA fires

EPHRATA — Grant County Fire District 13 and Ephrata firefighters dealt with a 25-acre burn near Highway 28 and Road E NW Sunday, closing Highway 28 at Naylor Junction and Neva Lake Road. By 5:14 p.m. the fire was handled, and by 5:35 p.m. the highway was reopened. Fire is inferred to have been sparked by a bird on a power line, and was wind driven. The Miners Complex Fires consist of nine wildfires caused by lightning strikes on July 17 and 18. The storm caused about 1,000 lightning strikes across Oregon and Washington. Fire crews are battling a 500-acre complex of lightning-caused fires in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, which has prompted trail closures and warnings from the U.S. Forest Service. The Miners Complex include: Miners Fire, Vista Ridge Fire, Dolly Creek Fire, Sulphur Three Fire, Sulphur Four Fire, Sulphur Thirty-Four Fire, Upper Sulphur Thirty-Two Fire, Lower Sulphur Thirty-Two Fire, and Plummer Fire.