(L) Photo Credit: Justin Ramsay, Asst. Chief of Lyle F&R #4

Incident Summary

The Bighorn Fire is located between Middle Road and East Road and burning in Pine Creek Canyon just north of the Solar farm.

Start Date

It started on July 22, 2024, on Monday around 1307 hours PT from an undetermined cause, according to some Fire Officials.

Incident Command

The management of the wildfire is under the SE Washington IA Team, Type 3 with Incident Commander Leonard Johnson at the helm.

Cause

According to Fire Officials, the fire ignited from an undetermined cause which is currently under investigation.

Incident Cooperators

Those who are assisting with this incident include Lyle Fire 7 Rescue District #4, North Mason Regional Fire Authority, and Klickitat County 911 Dispatch / Emergency Management.

Evacuations In Process: Klickitat County 911 / EMA: https://www.facebook.com/KlickitatDEM911 and https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=877150377774295&set=pcb.877150881107578.

Shelter: No shelters are currently open. Call Klickitat County Dispatch if you have needs by calling 509-773-4545.

Current Status

The fire has burned about 15,000 acres and has a 1% containment status.

The fire has moved near the town of Bickleton, Washington, which has seen many wildfires near their area.

Threatened

Several high-value assets are currently being threatened which include home and ag lands, critical infrastructure, and a natural gas plant.

Cost-to-Date

$800,000.

ABOUT BICKLETON, WASHINGTON

Bickleton is located in an unincorporated community in Klickitat County, which is located in northeastern Klickitat County, south of the Horse Heaven Hills and the Yakama Indian Reservation. It is 66 miles west of Kennewick and 22 miles north of the Columbia River at Roosevelt. About 92 total residents were said to be living in the small town less than five square miles, according to their 2020 census information.

Bickleton is known as the Bluebird Capital because of the thousands of bluebirds that spend most of the year in the area. Additionally, it is home to the oldest tavern and rodeo in the State.

To fire history near this town piqued our interest in reading about this little town which is notable about how the town’s original buildings were destroyed during fires in 1937 and 1947. The largest fire occurred in 2023, the Newell Road Fire, which was a few miles from their town.

Source: Wikipedia, Bickleton Historical Society

(c) 2024 NW Fire Blog – Published 7/22/2024 1945 hours PT