Fire crews battle large blaze near the closed campground area of Columbia Park

Fire crews responded to a fire in Columbia Park on Wednesday.

Richland and Kennewick Fire Departments responded to a call about a fire near the east end of the park around 2:30 p.m..

It’s unclear where the fire began, but crews were working to contain the fire in the old campground area of the park within about 10 minutes of the call. Smoke from the fire could be seen from parts of Pasco.

The blaze was burning in heavy brush and grew to about 2 acres, according to fire officials.

It’s unknown at this point what sparked the fire, but no one was injured.

Campground fire

Fire crews from Richland were first dispatched to a vegetation fire in the area off of Fowler Street, bordering the campground portion of the park, according to Kennewick Fire Chief Chad Michael.

Once they arrived, they realized it was within Kennewick city limits and Kennewick also responded, Michael said in a news release.

The first crews on the scene saw a fire in “light, flashy fuels, moving at a moderate speed” in the brush area of the closed campgrounds. They began trying to contain the fire and called in brushfire vehicles with offroad capabilities for help.

Benton County Fire Districts 1 and 4 then responded with vehicles better suited for wildfire conditions.

Michael said that while crews were ensuring all of the hot spots were extinguished, and checking the containment line, a fire was spotted along the roofline of one of the abandoned campground buildings

They believe that was started by embers that drifted from larger fire onto the roof of the building.

Michael said a few trees within the containment area will likely need to be removed due to fire damage, and hot spots may remain for a few days. They planned to continue to monitor it throughout the night.

Kennewick Parks Department will evaluate the trees in the area to assess the extent of the damage on Thursday.

The campgrounds have been closed for more than two decades. Despite being long-closed, there have been several fires in the area. Crews have also occasionally had to remove people experiencing homelessness from the closed off portion of the park.

Michael said the fire department wants to urge the public not to go into the restricted campground area. He said if the public sees a new fire outside of the blackened area to call 911, but smoldering debris within the blackened area is expected.

The fire has been one of several in the Tri-Cities in the past few days. Michael said the dry and warm weather can cause some fuels to dry out fast.

This story was originally published April 3, 2024 at 3:23 PM.