A rapidly growing vegetation fire south of Washington state’s Tri-Cities has prompted Level 3 “Go Now” evacuation orders. Firefighters have expanded their response to the Locust Grove Fire after incident commanders requested additional wildland strike teams. The blaze had grown to about 20 acres on Thursday, according to WatchDuty. A third strike team was later requested as crews worked to prevent the fire from threatening homes and other buildings.
Event Context
Many people in the Tri-Cities region of Washington State experienced dread and terror as they saw flames from the enormous Locust Grove fire near Kennewick.
See photo here.
Team Analysis
A wildland strike team was initially dispatched following reports over emergency radio traffic. Incident commanders later requested a second strike team dedicated to structure protection as flames threatened nearby properties. A third strike team was subsequently ordered to strengthen the response, followed by another wildland strike team from Walla Walla County.
(This story is being updated)
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According to Watch Duty, emergency crews first responded to reports of a vegetation fire shortly after midnight.
As conditions changed, officials repeatedly requested more firefighting resources.
