Easing winds help firefighters hold 15-square-mile wildfire near Yakima in central Washington

Firefighters hold wildfire near Yakima, Wash.

YAKIMA, Wash. — Firefighters were gaining ground Monday on a wildfire that burned across 15 square miles of dry grass and sagebrush in central Washington, as investigators began to examine how three firefighters were injured fleeing their truck in the flames.

The firefighters had driven down a driveway to protect a home that was threatened, but the fire came up too quickly and they were unable to turn around, said Christy Boisselle, a spokeswoman for West Valley Fire and Rescue. They escaped with minor injuries after the blaze burned down to and jumped the dusty dirt road, where the remnants of the scorched fire truck remained.

About 200 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, with another 100 expected by the end of the day Monday. It had burned 10,000 acres and was 15 percent contained.

Officials were investigating the cause.

The fire started Sunday afternoon about 10 miles west of downtown Yakima, an agricultural hub known for tree fruit, wine grapes and hops for beer. The area around the fire is comprised of orchards and old farm houses, as well as homes built as the area has been developed in recent years.

Firefighters had said three homes and several outbuildings burned Sunday, but Boisselle said they had been unable to confirm damages on Monday.

Steve Carlson, a cherry and apple grower, watched the flames consume a vacant home next door as he worked to protect his own. The neighbor, an older gentleman, died several years ago, he said.

“The smoke was just so intense and then the flames came,” he said, pointing to the burned land that stretches to the edges of his watered, grassy lawn. Flames singed apple trees on the edges of his orchard.

Carlson had just picked his cherries on Friday.

Living in an arid, rural area, Carlson said he and his family had prepared for a wildfire by planting green grass around the home, installing a sprinkler system and rock wall, and putting a steel roof on the barn.

“You always fear someday this is going to happen, but I guess what we did worked,” he said, crediting firefighters on the ground and in the air with saving his home.

Mike Willette, a neighbor across the hill, lost two vintage Harley Davidson motorcycles and several bicycles in a storage shed. His home survived unscathed.

“We were watching the fire all day over the ridge, but I thought the smoke was pouring toward town,” he said. “Then a little later, the fire just came racing down that hill. It happened so fast.”

Many of the fire crews that responded when the blaze broke out were paid volunteers.

The three who suffered minor injuries — a twisted ankle, smoke inhalation, cuts on hands and arms from fences and minor burns to one — were treated at a local hospital and released Sunday evening.

They declined to give their names. A straw hat covered the burned, blistered ears of one firefighter, protecting them from the sun as he walked the area Monday.

“We’re just glad to be alive,” he said, talking to the others.

The lost truck, a structure protection engine, was valued at about $400,000.