+100-acre fire burning near Juniper Dunes Wilderness in Franklin County

Franklin County fire crews were battling a large grass fire Saturday night in the area of the Juniper Dunes recreation area north of Pasco.

A number of fire trucks were dispatched just before 8 p.m. to near Kruse Road, west of the area popular with off-road vehicles, hikers and equestrians.

A huge smoke plume and raging flames could be seen from as far away as the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.

The fire already had grown to about 100 acres by 10 p.m.

The Juniper Dunes area is about 19,000 acres, including the wilderness area covering more than 7,000 acres, as well as the open recreational area and an area of critical habit.

Firefighters from around the Tri-Cities area were kept busy Saturday responding to various fires, including a blaze near Jolianna Drive in Richland that began about 5 p.m. and a two-alarm fire near 27th Avenue and Oak Street in East Kennewick about 4:30 p.m. Another two-alarm fire was reported about 8 p.m. west of Benton City in the Yakima Valley.

This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 10:07 PM.