Out of control yard fire destroys West Richland home, leaving family of 4 displaced

A man accidentally burned down his family’s home when he lost control of a yard fire in West Richland on Saturday afternoon.

The man called 911 shortly before 4 p.m. and said the fire had gotten out of control and into the rose bushes at 3852 West Van Giesen Street, Chief Paul Carlyle, Benton County Fire District 4, told the Herald.

The fire quickly spread to the crawl space where it ignited the home, Carlyle said.

The family of four had gotten outside safely by the time firefighters arrived.

Since the fire started under the home, it made it unsafe for firefighters to go inside. The blaze quickly moved into the attic and made it dangerous for firefighters to stand on the roof, Carlyle said.

The fire burned hot enough to scorch the outside a nearby mobile home, but firefighters were able to stop it from spreading, he said.

It took about two hours for firefighters to get the blaze under control, Carlyle said. A firetruck was stationed at the house until 4 a.m. Sunday to watch for any signs of it restarting.

The home was a complete loss, and the Red Cross is helping the family with temporary housing, Carlyle said.

Benton County Fire District 4 received help from Benton County Fire District 2 and Richland Fire Department, as well as West Richland Police, City of West Richland and Benton REA.

Firefighters are seeing an early increase this year in the number of controlled fires that have gotten away from people, Carlyle said.

“Typically we don’t see it so early,” he said.

You can check to see if they’re allowed to burn on the Benton Clean Air Agency’s website at bit.ly/BentonCleanAir. According to the agency’s website, no debris burning or bon fires are allowed inside any of the city limits or the Urban Growth Areas.