Basin firefighters see busy weekend

Yahoo

3 days ago

Jun. 2—"Let's just be careful, and let's have a great summer. Everybody needs to do their part in keeping everyone safe."
Jim Stucky, Chief Grant County Fire District 13.
QUINCY — Over the weekend, two wildfires and a home fire in Grant County and, as of Sunday, the county is in a burn ban effective until at least Sept. 30.
"Be aware of what the rules are and follow the burn ban stipulations. We prefer not burning at all," Grant County Fire District 13 Chief Jim Stucky said. "If you are going to do a campfire or whatever, make sure you have water nearby, don't let it get too big and make sure it is fully out and cold to the touch before you go to bed for the night."
Grant County Fire District 3 Chief David Durfee reiterated a similar sentiment, saying that his department had a busy weekend and he is hoping the burn ban will slow things down.
"It's just like the fires that happened this weekend, I know that the burn ban was not in effect during our fires, but we have these wind events or weather events that come through," Durfee said. "It's vital that people just remain alert during the dry season and fall under the restrictions. It takes everybody to do their part, and just following the regulations would be huge."
Grant County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said people need to remember there are consequences, both punitive and legal, for burning during the ban.
"I just ask everyone to honor the burn ban we have in place due to a past history in this county of several wildfires, and some of those wildfires burned down people's homes," Foreman said. "We certainly don't want that to ever happen, and so the public's cooperation is appreciated."
The penalties for burning during the ban range from $150 to $500, depending on the offense, according to Grant County Ordinance 17-082-CC.
"If you are found to be burning, the consequences can be a warning but if you're found to be burning and it causes a wildfire, especially one that damages someone else's property, you may be subject to a citation or a court date," Foreman said.
Ancient Lakes Fire
The Ancient Lakes Fire, which started Saturday night outside of Quincy Lakes, is now fully contained as of Sunday night, according to Durfee.
GCFD3 was called to a fire in the Quincy Lake Area Saturday night. Soon after arriving at the scene, crews realized the fire was near Ancient Lakes, where firefighters would have limited access.
Durfee said Grant County Sheriff's Office deputies came out and helped evacuate Quincy Lakes Recreational Area as they began working to contain the fire.
Durfee said when they arrived on scene, the fire was at about 50 acre,s but because of winds at around 40 miles per hour, it quickly spread to around 146 acres.
"The wind was pushing the fire," Durfee said.
However, with the help of GCFD 3, Grant County Fire District 8, Ephrata Fire Department, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service, they were able to stop the fire from spreading further.
"Well, with the cooperation of regional partners, it was great," Durfee said. "We were able to get control of it pretty early, being that it was at night and an unknown territory. We came up with a plan with multiple agencies the next day and secured it while getting some of our units back in service, while maintaining lines and controlling the fire."
The fire is under investigation by BLM.
Crews will remain on scene for the next couple of days, managing hot spots and ensuring the fire doesn't reignite.
"The main fire is out. They're just working on controlling lines," Durfee said.
Highway 28 Fire
On Saturday, Grant County Fire District 13 was called out to a controlled burn Sunday morning that was not fully extinguished and spread to nearby vegetation from high winds.
"The guy had been a control burn on Saturday, and then his claim was that he hosed everything down really well," Stucky said. "He had piled some grass clippings on top of where he had burned the day before, and it actually started on fire Sunday morning. That's when we got called out."
The fire was located just north of Ephrata in the 1900 block of Highway 28 West.
Firefighters from the Ephrata Fire Department, Grant County Fire District 13, Grant County Fire District 7, Grant County Fire District 8 and Bureau of Land Management of Oregon and Washington assisted with the blaze.
"Just make sure that everything that you've been burning is completely out before you put anything else on top of it," Stucky said. "If you have been burning, just give it a little extra water. But then again, don't burn anymore. We're done."
Despite the strong winds, the departments were able to stop the fire from jumping onto the train tracks. The fire only scorched around six acres. Law enforcement has had contact with the responsible party, according to GCFD3.
"It was a little busier than we like for sure, I think it was for everybody in the neighborhood," Stucky said.
Quincy House Fire
On Sunday night, a house fire resulted in the death of one Quincy man, according to GCSO.
GCFD 3 was called to the 17000 block of Road 5-Northwest at around 11 p.m. for a single-family dwelling that was fully engulfed in flame, according to Durfee.
Durfee said the initial report said someone was in the residence. When the crew arrived, they tried to enter the residence, but heat and smoke prevented firefighters from doing so.
"We tried to go inside. We tried to do an offensive tactic with rescue measures and tried to put the fire out and stop the spread," Durfee said. "Instead, we had to go on the defensive and just try to control the incident and ensure it didn't spread."
After the fire was extinguished, first responders recovered the body of 72-year-old Darrwin L. Kunish from inside a bedroom.
Kunish's remains are in the care of Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison, whose staff will conduct an autopsy. Kunish's family was notified, according to Foreman.
The fire is under investigation by the Grant County Fire Marshal's office.
Other fires outside Grant County:
The Ayers Fire, also known as the Meals Road Fire, scorched around 450 acres over the weekend. The fire is fully contained as of Monday, according to Benton County Fire District 1. The fire was located near the Oregon border.
The Les Blair Fire began May 31 around 2 p.m. and burned around 510 acres. It began near an orchard, according to Benton County Fire District 1. As of Sunday night, the fire was around 60% contained with crews on site enforcing containment lines. As of Monday, the fire is fully contained.
The Second Creek Fire, which ignited around noon May 26, is sitting at around 80 acres and is roughly 38% contained as of Friday, according to Chelan County Fire District 3. The fire was likely started by a human, but it's under investigation.