How Dry Is It? Big Brush Fire Started by Hot Combine Ball Bearing
From Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning, a number of fire crews from Benton County, even Walla Walla and College Place, battled a 500 acre brush fire that torched ground near Locust Grove Road south of Kennewick.
Now, according to Benton County Fire District 1 officials, they found the cause. It was a ball bearing that fell out of a pulley on a combine that working a nearby field. The part was hot enough to trigger the fire, which spread rapidly.
Fire officials say often times field crews will have a water supply and an extra excavator nearby in case a fire pops up, It's a rather common occurrence. A spark from farm equipment will start a fire, but workers are able to use water and other means to quickly extinguish. But in this case it got away quickly.
Using various fire crews and some water drops the blaze was brought under control, and no homes or buildings were damaged or destroyed.