Wind turbine to blame for fire that threatened dozens of homes

Gusting winds are hampering firefighter efforts to contain the Juniper Fire in Klickitat County.

The fire broke out Saturday when a wind turbine near Bickleton caught fire.

The team took over management of the fire Sunday morning.

The blaze has scorched more than 240 acres, according to Ben Shearer, Public Information Officer for the Southeast Washington Interagency Type 3 Management Team 2.

The fire is 40% contained as of Sunday night, but winds continue to plague efforts to fully extinguish the blaze.

A cold front is forecasted to come through early this week, so crews plan to finish mopping up and establishing containment lines Monday.

Officials say the wind turbine that caught fire is owned by Avan Grid and sits on privately-owned land.

While 39 homes were threatened by the flames, no structures were damaged.