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UPDATE: Eastbound I-90 will partly reopen at 3 p.m.

The Washington Department of Natural Resources posted this photo of The Boylston fire Friday. The photo taken by an Ahtanum crew when they were evacuating Wanapum Recreational Area on Thursday night.
The Washington Department of Natural Resources posted this photo of The Boylston fire Friday. The photo taken by an Ahtanum crew when they were evacuating Wanapum Recreational Area on Thursday night.

A single eastbound lane of Interstate 90 will reopen at 3 p.m. Friday as a wildfire burned mostly out of control.

The state Department of Transportation said the lane will have a pilot car starting at exit 115 near Kittitas.

The speed limit will be 40 mph as the pilot car takes people over the Vantage Bridge. Officials said travelers might want to take another route.

State fire officials told KING5 News that the Boylston fire doubled in size Friday morning after burning all night.

The state Department of Natural Resources said the fire had burned about 110 square miles by 10 a.m.

State officials say it’s one of three fires burning in Kittitas and Grant counties.

The Boylston fire started at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the freeway’s median about 14 miles east of Ellensburg.

Officials quickly closed the eastbound lanes of the freeway as smoke obscured the road, said Trooper Brian Moore with the Washington State Patrol.

Hard winds then blew the fire across the freeway, closing westbound lanes too.

State aircraft soon were helping ground crews try to contain the wildfire as it rapidly spread across the brush near Ryegrass Mountain.

At 7 p.m., the fire had grown from just 100 acres to 3,000 acres.

By 9 p.m., the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office said the fire had burned 6,000 acres.

The fire kept burning throughout the night, with the Red Cross setting up a shelter at a local junior high school.

Westbound traffic was being detoured to the Vantage Highway. Eastbound traffic is getting off I-90 around exit 115.

Two other fires burning near Vernita and Mattawa also drew state responses. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office issued Level 3 “GO NOW!” evacuation order for Desert Aire and Lakeside.

Highway 24 remains closed at the Vernita Bridge because of the L Road fire. Officials have no timeline to reopen it.

Jake Dorsey: 509-582-1405

This story was originally published July 19, 2018 at 5:02 PM.

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