Update: Giant Pasco fire under control, but it likely will smolder for days
After hours of fighting the giant fire at Tri-City Pallets in Pasco fire crews were able to get it under control Monday afternoon, but it’s likely going to take days before it stops smoldering.
Investigators are trying to determine what sparked the fire in a small stack of pallets about 8:30 a.m. at the pallet recycling company located at 335 E. B Circle, said Ben Shearer, Pasco fire’s public information officer.
The fire quickly spread to a large stack of wooden pallets, creating an immense amount of heat, Shearer said. The blaze burned hot enough to knock down three high tension lines that were near the scene.
Bonneville Power Administration shut down the power to those transmission lines.
Firefighters focused their efforts on containing the blaze to the stack of pallets, Shearer said.
“It was so hot in the middle of the property that firefighters couldn’t get back there,” he told the Tri-City Herald. “They were trying to keep the pallets that weren’t involved from becoming involved.”
It’s not clear exactly how many burned, but the business owner said there were between 60,000 and 70,000 pallets in the area.
Along with the pallets the fire burned some nearby outbuildings. It’s not clear what was inside them.
Wind picked up some embers from the fire and dropped them in the dry grass and sagebrush on the other side of the street, Shearer said.
The brush fire also threatened a home, Shearer said in a video on the Pasco Fire Department Facebook page. A Franklin County Fire District 3 led effort kept the fire contained.
Along with Franklin Fire District 3, Pasco firefighters had help from Franklin County Fire District 5, Benton County Fire Districts 1, 2 and 4 and Walla Walla County Fire District 5.
Kennewick firefighters also helped by responding to calls inside of Pasco.
At it’s height, the plume of black smoke was visible from as far away as Benton City and Badger Mountain.
They were able to bring the fire under control by about 2:30 p.m. Now, there is a large pile of smoldering ash that will need to be spread out so firefighters can get at the hot spots inside of the ash.
Pasco firefighters will be on the scene for the next few days working on dousing those remaining spots and making sure the fire doesn’t spread anywhere else, Shearer said.
Shearer noted that the fire and secondary flare ups shows how quickly a fire can grow, and people should be careful with the coming Fourth of July holiday.
Weekend fires
Fire crews across the region also battled several other large fires over the weekend as roller-coaster temperature changes drastically increased the area’s fire danger.
Most of Eastern Washington, including the Tri-Cities was under a red flag fire warning with strong wind gusts.
Wildland engines and a water tender from Franklin County Fire District 3 assisted Franklin County Fire District 5 with a 15-acre wildland fire off Elm Road, about five miles east of Highway 395 on Friday, according to Franklin FD 3. Franklin County Fire District 1 also assisted.
The fire was contained by Friday afternoon, but old hay at the center of the fire is expected to continue to smoke for several days.
On Sunday Benton County Fire District 1 battled a large haystack fire near Nine Canyon Road.
When crews arrives around 3 p.m., they found one haystack fully engulfed and strong winds spread the fire to two other stacks, according to Benton FD 1.
Crews remained on the scene throughout the day to watch for flare ups.
The fire district said rain after hot days can cause freshly cut wet hay to combust. They recommend home owners treat grass clippings the same way, and keep it at least 10 feet away from any structures.
