Brush fire subsides in central Washington

QUINCY, — Brisk winds fanned a wildfire across more than 2.3 square miles of sagebrush in central Washington, at one point threatening several dozen homes and resulting in the brief evacuation of up to 300 people.

The fire, pushed by 25 mph winds with higher gusts, was burning in Grant and Douglas counties near the small town of Trinidad, about 20 miles southeast of Wenatchee. State firefighters were mobilized late Tuesday night to help more than 100 firefighters from those counties and neighboring Chelan County.

An evacuation order was canceled early today and an examination after daybreak indicated the burn covered about 1,500 acres and was roughly 20 percent contained, said Lt. Bob Schwiesow of Douglas County Fire District 2.

At the height of the blaze Tuesday night, authorities believed it had grown to about 5,000 acres, or 7.8 square miles.

Five state teams, each with 15 firefighters and five pieces of equipment, were being deployed this morning and officials hoped the fire would be contained by the end of the day.

“It’s starting to look pretty good now,” Schwiesow said.

State Highway 28 in the area was closed about four hours Tuesday night because of smoke, then was reopened shortly after midnight today, according to the state Transportation Department.

Two barns and an old homestead that “hadn’t had anybody in it for probably 20 years” were lost to the flames, Schwiesow said. No injuries were reported and the fire’s cause remained undetermined.

Late Tuesday night the blaze threatened a dozen homes on Stuhlmiller Road, where it was first reported about 6 p.m., as well as about a dozen houses in Trinidad, said Sam Lorenz, Grant County emergency management director. Authorities also were concerned about the potential threat to another 30-40 mobile homes.

Many of those who left their homes were sent to a greenbelt area at the south end of a small Crescent Bar-area golf course, and a shelter was opened at Quincy High School, Lorenz said.