Wind-whipped fire rages through a Tri-Cities fourplex, then quickly spreads to another

Wind spread a fire early Sunday in Kennewick, Washington, from one apartment fourplex to another.

The Kennewick Fire Department was called out about 3:40 a.m. to the 4200 block of West Albany and found the fire already raging through a fourplex when it arrived.

Winds of about 20 mph, with stronger gusts, had spread the fire to the roof of a neighboring fourplex, according to the agency.

All residents of the fourplex where the fire started made it out safely with the help of Kennewick police, who were the first to arrive.

The second fourplex was vacant.

The Kennewick Fire Department did not immediately know how many people lost homes in the fire. The Red Cross and the Kennewick fire chaplain were working to find temporary housing.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Agencies responding to the fire included the Richland and Pasco fire departments and Benton County Fire District No. 1.