Vantage Highway Fire grows to 17,000 acres

The Vantage fire in Kittitas County continued to grow Thursday.

According to Grace DeBusschere, a spokeswoman for the interagency team responding to the fire, about 17,000 acres had burned as of Thursday evening, up from 10,500 acres the previous morning. The fire has a perimeter of 26,500 acres, but officials have been struggling to calculate the exact acreage within that perimeter because of rugged terrain.

“There are significant portions of unburned fuel within that perimeter,” DeBusschere said.

Winds on Thursday blew the fire, which is near the town of Vantage, back on itself, which DeBusschere described as advantageous to firefighters.

The fire burning mostly north of Vantage Highway has destroyed four structures: three outbuildings and one unoccupied cabin. No civilian injuries have been reported.

One firefighter was injured on Wednesday, but was able to get medical treatment and is recovering, according to DeBusschere.

As of Thursday evening, the Vantage Highway fire had no evacuation notices in effect.

Farther south, the Cow Canyon fire, north of Naches, is estimated at 5,600 acres. Evacuation notices have been posted for residents in the area.