Burbank

The Burbank fire, located west of South Badger Pocket Road in Yakima County and east of I-82, is spreading in a south/southwest direction. Southeast WA Type 3 Incident Management Team has assumed command of the response to the Burbank fire and is working with the Yakima Training Center Emergency Operation Center.

The fire started at approximately 4:30 p.m. by I-82 milepost 18 in the Burbank Creek area on Saturday, July 10th. Kittitas Valley Fire & Rescue (KVFR) firefighters were first on scene, followed shortly at 4:40 p.m. by the Yakima Training Center Fire Department (YTC FD), which was requested by Kittitas County for mutual aid. At 5:40 p.m., driven by high wind speeds, dry weather conditions, and quickly igniting sage and grass fuels, the fire spread eastward into the Yakima Training Center. Once the fire spread to the training center, it threatened several structures, which fire resources successfully protected. By 8:30 pm, the fire had expanded to approximately 5,000 acres and was moving through the canyon between Yakima and Umtanum Ridges. Firefighters from YTC FD, KVFR, Selah, Yakima and the BLM, along with WA DNR air assets and YTC dozer crews, worked diligently through the afternoon and night to protect structures and mitigate the spread of the fire.

The cause is unknown and a fire investigator has been ordered to the fire. The fire started adjacent to I-82, not from within the training center. Due to a red flag warning (hot, dry, and windy weather conditions which mark a high potential for fire activity), no training was taking place in the Yakima Training Center when the fire ignited.