More than 1,500 acres are burning in two separate fires in the west end of Benton County.
The fire, called the Dry Creek Complex, is at highways 24 and 241 near the county line between Benton and Yakima counties, said Bob Spencer, manager of Benton County Emergency Management.
Smoke from the brush fire has prompted state Department of Transportation officials to close down part of the road because of limited visibility.
Highway 241 from Factory Road in Sunnyside to the Junction of Highways 24 and 241 was closed at 7:30 a.m. There’s no estimate as to when the roadway will reopen.
Two fires — Blackrock and Midway — are burning in the complex, Spencer said. One is just south of the Columbia River west of the Vernita Bridge.
The Blackrock fire has burned a minimum of 1,000 acres and the Midway is more than 500, he said.
Numerous homes were threatened with the Blackrock fire, but fire crews have been able to keep the flames away so far and are working to get a fire line around the homes, Spencer said.
A bridge on Watoma Road has been closed after being damaged by the fire last night, he said.
The fires were sparked by lightning strikes last night. A type-3 incident management team has been called to run to Dry Creek Complex fire.
“That creates a group of very knowledgeable people out close to the fire to keep track of resources needed and costs handled,” Spencer said.
Benton County Emergency Services activated its Emergency Operations Center around 11 p.m. last night, but shut it down around 1:30 a.m. when things quieted down.
It was reactivated later this morning when the Blackrock fire flared up again because of strong winds.
Fire crews from Yakima, Benton and Walla Walla counties are helping with the blaze. Seven strike teams each with three or four engines are at the scenes, along with eight dozers, Spencer said.
“Everybody’s pitching in,” he said.
A state wildland fire mobilization has been ordered to support Grant County fire agencies battling four wildfires in the Ephrata and Soap Lake areas, which will bring more resources from around the state to Grant County.
About 2,000 acres have burned, said Kyle Foreman, Grant County Emergency Management spokesman.
In Benton County, Spencer is asking motorists to avoid taking Highway 240 around Hanford if they can.
Road construction is slowing traffic down and fire crews have to take the highway to get to the fire scene because of the bridge closure on Watoma Road, he said.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/688817.html
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