A passing commercial truck blamed for destructive fire south of Kennewick
A piece of hot carbon from the tailpipe of a commercial truck on Interstate 82 is believed to have sparked the 70-acre wildfire that destroyed a roofing company building in south Kennewick.
The fire that shut down a state highway and sent a giant plume of smoke across the area started just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of I-82 and Highway 395.
Officials believe carbon that had built up in the exhaust from the vehicle shook loose and set the grass on fire.
Winds blowing at 24 mph with gusts up to 30 mph pushed the fire through dry grass quickly, said a release from the Kennewick Fire Department. When Benton County Fire District 1 firefighters arrived the flames were heading toward a CentiMark Roofing building just north of I-82.
District 1 asked for more help to contain the blaze and Kennewick firefighters responded to the now burning CentiMark building on Southridge Boulevard. And the fire was threatening a second business, Watts Construction.
District 1 crews worked to contain the wildfire while Kennewick firefighters battled the CentiMark fire.
A number of homes along Southridge Boulevard and West 41st Avenue were evacuated as a precaution.
The fire also forced Highway 395 to close in the area for about 45 minutes. They were able to establish a detour, but the ramp from westbound Interstate 82 to southbound 395 was closed into the night.
Firefighters were able to stop the fire from getting into the residential neighborhood. And the crews the burning sagebrush and grass fire contained after an hour.
Kennewick Fire Chief Chad Michael said someone had cut back the brush near the houses, creating a fire break.
Firefighters stayed in the area through the night to extinguish any flareups.
Burning storage
The CentiMark building, which was storing adhesive and roofing materials, presented a different set of problems for firefighters, said the fire chief.
The fire in the large building was difficult to reach safely, so the nearby Watts Construction loaned a track hoe to help pull down the building.
As the track hoe operator demolished the building, firefighters extinguished the remaining hot spots.
Fire crews worked through the night and had more help from the heavy equipment operators this morning to take apart the steel building.
Firefighters had the blaze under control by 9:30 p.m.
CentiMark offers commercial and industrial roofing throughout the Tri-Cities, according to its website.
Thursday’s fire was a regional firefighting effort, with District 1 Chief Lonnie Click, Franklin County Fire Chief Mike Harris, Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear and Richland Fire Chief Tom Huntington helping at the scene to direct their fire crews.
They also had firefighters from Benton County Fire District 4 and the Hanford Fire Department helping.
This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 12:57 PM.