Milton-Freewater field fire contained through mutual aid effort
MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. — A large field fire in a rural section of land consumed at least one structure and dozens of acres of land on Wednesday evening, but a collaborative effort from fire crews in the region helped to contain its spread after several hours of work.
According to a Facebook post by the Milton Freewater Rural Fire Dept. & EMS, fire crews, and ambulances were dispatched to SE. 14th Ave, S. Main St., Sykes Blvd at 5:32 p.m. on July 7. Strong winds at approximately 25 miles per hour caused the fire to spread rapidly across fields, consuming structures in the area.
Within a few minutes, gusts of wind pushed the fire from Highway 11 to S. Main St., causing local authorities to put out a call for mutual aid.
RELATED: Southeast Washington: 28,000 acres burned near Asotin, another wildfire ignites near Walla Walla
They were met with a helping hand from a plethora of agencies in the region including Walla Walla Fire District No. 4 and East Umatilla Rural Fire. Roughly 20 trucks and tenders responded to help fight the fire along with regional farmers who aided the efforts with their tractors and disks.
Standing grain and stubble were ignited as the fire spread across the Walla Walla River. A Pendleton helicopter and a 10-man hand crew from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) arrived to assist with the containment efforts.
After several hours, the fires were contained.
RECENT WILDFIRE HEADLINES FROM THE KAPP-KVEW NEWS STAFF:
- Governor Inslee announces state of emergency, burn ban due to wildfires
- Columbia Park Fire: Plumes of smoke spotted at Highway 240 near golf course
- Milton-Freewater fire spreads across rural land, consumes at least one structure
- Andrus Fire 30 percent contained, Level 1 evacuations remain in place (via KXLY)
RELATED: Umatilla National Forest suffers multiple fires across thousands of acres due to thunderstorms
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