Five homes lost, three damaged in 5,000 acre Bofer Canyon Fire

At a press conference Sunday, officials with the City of Kennewick, Benton County Fire District #1, and Benton PUD provided updates on the Bofer Canyon Fire that started Saturday just before 3pm.

Kennewick Fire Department Chief Vince Beasley reports that the final size of the fire is 5,000 acres, and that the blaze started along I-82 and quickly jumped Bofer Canyon Road, burning old grown sage brush and dry natural brush. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

As of 3:00 Sunday afternoon the fire is 80% contained, with full containment expected late Monday or early Tuesday. There is no active fire, but crews are still walking around the burned areas checking for hot spots.

State mobilization was requested about an hour after the fire started, allowing air resources to respond to the fire.

Winds quickly pushed the flames toward The Heights area of Canyon Lakes, and then east toward Inspiration Heights off of Ely and 45th in the southern end of Kennewick. At one point, crews thought they had stopped the fire at Highway 397 and Olympia.

"Then a fire whirl picked up some trash off the side of the road and threw it to the south, and we were off and running again," said Benton County Fire District #1 chief Lonnie Click. "We had to build containment lines in the night Saturday night to contain that fire to the east. To be able to stop it with the circumstances and the weather that they were dealing with yesterday, they did a great job."

on I-82 In all, five homes were leveled by the fire, and three had some external heat damage. Beasley said there are estimated 6 garages or unattached sheds that were also destroyed, and two horses were killed. Beasley says there were two people treated for injuries as a result of the fire. One person was treated for smoke inhalation, and another treated for some burns received while trying to protect their home.

Winds gusting at more than 30 miles an hour quickly pushed the blaze down Bofer Canyon, and toward housing developments. Chief Beasley said in some cases, fire fighters hooked up hoses to fire hydrants, and left them in the hands of local residents because crews were needed to help in other more pressing areas of the fire.

About 361 Benton PUD customers lost power as a result of the fire. All power was restored by 8pm. Benton PUD spokesperson Karen Miller says 25 utility poles were destroyed or damaged in the blaze, along with 5 transformers and other equipment. She estimates that it could take up to two weeks to fully repair the damage.

"It has been a challenging 24 hours for our responders and managers. While there have been some very scary situations, families who unfortunately lost their homes, property damage and other losses the past 24 hours, has demonstrated how every section of our community comes together in a time of need," said Kennewick Mayor Don Britain. This fire threatened a very populated area of Kennewick, and then spread into the Finley area in Benton County. Hundreds of home and property were saved due to  the tremendous efforts of all those involved. I cannot articulate the amount of love and support this community has shown. Our entire community should be extremely proud of how we responded."