Looking for a great local job or a great local employee? Try our employment classifieds.»Click here to search for jobs
| Save Money! ½ Price Deals Buy ½ price certificates here |
![]() Shop now for holiday gifts ½ off |
Wildfire no longer threatening Bridgeport homes
07:40 AM PDT on Monday, October 2, 2006
BRIDGEPORT, Wash. - A grass fire burning along the Columbia River in central Washington sent smoke through the town Monday, but was no longer an imminent threat to homes, officials said.
"It's a brown, thick smoke" from burning grass, but the wind was mostly blowing it away from town, said Gene Schmidt, Bridgeport school superintendent. The fire and smoke were not interfering with classes, he said.
The fire about seven miles from town grew to 10,000 acres Sunday, but no other structures burned, a fire dispatcher for Douglas County said Monday. Firefighters have completed lines around about half the fire and expect to have it contained by Wednesday, she said.
The wind-blown fire destroyed two outbuildings and came within about a half-mile of homes, said Dan Johnson, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol's fire protection bureau, which coordinated the initial response to the fire. No evacuations were ordered.
The fire started around 4 p.m. Saturday and was believed to have been caused by a downed power line, said Melissa Gannie, a fire protection bureau spokeswoman. It burned in steep terrain along the river.
About 100 firefighters battled the fire, with local firefighters getting help from Grant, Chelan, Snohomish, Stevens, Clark, Benton and Yakima counties, Gannie said.
More Local News
Most Popular Stories
Most E-mailed Stories
KING5.com Feature
| KING5.com on your Web site Put our news, weather, sports and more on your site. Click here... |
Popular Stories









You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Update Your Profile