UPDATE: Wildland fire in south Kennewick burns about 300 acres, appears suspicious

The cause of a 300-acre fire south of Kennewick is still under investigation, but appears to be suspicious.

Firefighters were called about 2:30 p.m. Thursday to battle the blaze along Interstate 82 near the Christensen Road overpass.

When fire crews arrived, they discovered less than an acre burning, but it soon grew. It threatened some homes and historical buildings on Locust Grove Road, Benton County Fire District 1 Chief Scott LoParco said.

Adair Road was closed to allow firefighters to access Locust Grove Road, because the fire appeared to be heading in that direction.

Benton County Fire District 1 was joined by neighboring agencies, including two wildland strike teams, a team to protect the homes on Locust Grove Road, and aircraft.

A bulldozer and the aircraft were instrumental in keeping the fire away from the homes, LoParco said.

Firefighters also had to contend with people parking on Christensen Road trying to find a view to watch the fire. An alert from Kennewick police asked people to not park or stop on the road because they were delaying firefighters.

Smoke had blown over the interstate, but it had not caused enough of a problem to call for shutting down the highway, officials said.

The land where the fire burned is largely untouched so the fire burned through some tumbleweeds in valleys. This helped contribute to a large plume of smoke that rose up over south Kennewick and was visible across the city.

The fire was under control about 5 p.m. Thursday, and LoParco said firefighters are monitoring it, but there haven’t been any hotpots.

No one was hurt in the fire. .

This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM.