NJFFSA16
05-22-2002, 03:04 AM
BENTON CITY, Wash. (AP) - A wildfire that burned 1,000 acres of
brush and grassland Tuesday on Red Mountain was started by a
squirrel electrocuted on a power line, fire officers said.
A squirrel bit through a high-voltage power line, caught fire
and fell into dry grass, starting the blaze, said Benton County
fire Capt. Ron Fryer.
The wind-driven flames briefly threatened about 30 homes, but
they were protected by buffer areas cleared after the fire on the
nearby Hanford nuclear reservation almost two years ago.
Crews from Franklin and Walla Walla counties were called in to
help fight the fire.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press.
brush and grassland Tuesday on Red Mountain was started by a
squirrel electrocuted on a power line, fire officers said.
A squirrel bit through a high-voltage power line, caught fire
and fell into dry grass, starting the blaze, said Benton County
fire Capt. Ron Fryer.
The wind-driven flames briefly threatened about 30 homes, but
they were protected by buffer areas cleared after the fire on the
nearby Hanford nuclear reservation almost two years ago.
Crews from Franklin and Walla Walla counties were called in to
help fight the fire.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press.