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30,000+ acre wildfire threatening homes and farms south of Yakima

A State of Emergency has been declared for a wildfire in Klickitat County that has grown to over 30,000 acres, according to the Klickitat County Department of Emergency Management.

On Saturday, a media release for the Newell Road Wildfire near Bickleton said the fire had been rapidly spreading and had become a hazard to residents, homes, farm structures, livestock, crops, solar farms, wind farms, the Williams Natural Gas Pipeline, and the Roosevelt Landfill.

Bickleton is about 43 miles south of Yakima and about 60 miles west of Kennewick.

As of 9 a.m. Saturday, the fire had burned more than 30,000 acres and multiple structures were been lost.

According to various reports, one of the structures that may be lost is the Dot Schoolhouse.

I just learned that the Dot Schoolhouse burned this evening in the Newell Road Fire near Bickleton. Such a great...

Posted by Mt. Adams Area Emergency & Info page on Friday, July 21, 2023

At this time, Roosevelt Grade Road, Middle Road, Old Highway 8 North to and including Dot Road have been closed.

The town of Bickleton was issued a Level 1 evacuation notice (Get ready).

The town of Roosevelt was issued a Level 2 evacuation notice (Get set).

As the fire grows, residents can receive more updates at klickitatcounty.org/249 and facebook.com/KlickitatDEM911.

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