Updated 2005 Hours PDT
Incident Summary
A wildfire erupted around 1500 hours this afternoon, prompting Level 3 Evacuations.
Incoming fire agencies were brought in as Mutual Aid to assist with the ever fast moving fire.
Evacuation
Around 1530 hours, there was a Level 3 Evacuation by the Grant County Sheriffs Office but appears to have been lowered to Level 2 for 10 homes in the area of Old Vantage Highway and I-90.
Misinformation
Some were saying the fast moving fire was heading straight for the Gorge Amphitheater but the Grant County Sheriffs Office quickly worked to contained rumors.
Misinformation out on the internet included Sunland Estates had been evacuated as one Social Media poster said that their whole community had been told to leave. The Sheriffs Office said the Sunland Estates were not evacuated.
Many were frightened about seeing the large plumes of smoke, only three miles from the venue and were reporting that some of the individual shows were being cancelled because the wildfire was heading straight for them. The Sheriffs Office said the fire WAS not coming towards and infact, the fire was moving AWAY from them at a rather high pace.
Mutual Aid Responding
A county-wide page went out for all available fire agencies and wildland fire equipment to respond to the Staging area located at the Silica Ridge Farms, located at 1454 Silica Road, off of I-90.
The IC requested a State Mobe to respond to the fire.
It appears that firefighters have gained control of the 600-acre sage and grass burning wildfire with some resources going back into service.
Weather Conditions
Current weather conditions for the area the County is 69-degrees with a 0% precipitation with 23% humidity and winds at 23 mph.
Other Fires Burning in the State
At the time of this post, there are two (2) other wildfires burning in Washington State. One fire is near Airway Heights (Spokane County) and the other is in Wenatchee (Chelan County).
Hashtags Used by Social Media
Vantage Fire – #Sunland (We’re using #SunlandFire and #WaWildfires2016)
Wenatchee – #WenatcheeFire
Spokane County – #AirwayHeightsFire
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