Lightning starts Hanford fire near historic building

Lightning started a brush fire early Saturday morning at the Hanford nuclear reservation, but no radiologically contaminated areas were burned.

The Hanford Fire Department responded to a fire at 3 a.m. burning not far from the old Hanford High School, which is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, according to Mission Support Alliance, the Department of Energy contractor in charge of firefighting services.

The fire did not reach the high school.

The high school, built in 1916, served two generations of students until the towns of Hanford and White Bluffs were taken over by the federal government as part of a secret project to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Firefighters contained the fire at 14.3 acres and were mopping up by 3:30 a.m., according to Mission Support Alliance.

The firefighters union Local I-24 reported multiple lighting strikes early Saturday morning, including on land north of the Columbia River that is part of the Hanford Reach National Monument.

This story was originally published July 15, 2017 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Lightning starts Hanford fire near historic building."