Second Street Fire: 1,150-Acre Wildfire Forces Evacuations Near Benton City, Washington

The fire ignited Friday afternoon and grew fast enough, in dry grass and gusting wind, to jump from a quarter-acre spot fire to a fully mobilized state response inside a matter of hours — the kind of run that turns a routine brush-fire call into an incident big enough to shut down a stretch of interstate and pull in resources from across Washington.

How the Fire Grew So Fast

Dispatch records show crews were first called out around 2:40–3 p.m. Friday, September 25, to a reported brush fire near Northeast Second Street, south of Benton City. What they found was already moving — a quarter-acre spot fire pushing toward nearby homes in dry grass and brush. From there, the numbers climbed through the afternoon and evening: an estimated 800 acres by 6 p.m., 1,000 acres by 4:13 p.m. on the earlier WildCAD update, and 1,149 acres by 5:40 p.m. Friday, burning through grass, brush, and pockets of urban forested land as it pushed north toward West Richland.

Evacuation Zones and Road Closures

Evacuation orders expanded quickly as the fire grew Friday evening. Law enforcement first moved residents out of the Apple Drive and Pear Drive areas along with the Kiona Village Mobile Home Park east of Benton City, then broadened Level 3 (GO NOW) orders to cover the area southeast of State Route 224, southwest of Keene Road, and north of Kennedy Road. As of Saturday morning, the picture looked like this:

• ✓Level 3 (GO NOW): Kennedy Road and SR 224 to the North Sunset Road intersection, including the Kiona Village Mobile Home Park and the Pear Drive/North Valley Drive subdivision.
• ✓Level 2 (GET SET): SR 224 from the Sunset Road intersection to Keene Road.
• ✓Road closures: Kennedy Road remains closed between Watkins and Benton City; both directions of Interstate 82 were closed Friday during peak fire activity, though I-82 and SR 224 have since reopened to through traffic.
• ✓Evacuation centers: American Red Cross shelters at Central Church, 1124 Stevens Drive in Richland, and Ki-Be High School, 1205 Horne Drive in Benton City; the Central Church location was set to shift to standby status at noon Saturday as pressure eased.
• ✓Utility hazards: Benton County officials have reported downed and burned power lines and utility poles between Benton City and West Richland; drivers are being told to avoid the area entirely.

The State Mobilization Response

At the request of Benton County Fire District 4 Deputy Chief Dan Drayton, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized a full state fire mobilization at 4:30 p.m. Friday under the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan — the mechanism the state uses to pull firefighting resources from around Washington when a fire outpaces what local departments can handle alone. Mobilization specialists with the state Fire Protection Bureau ordered six wildland strike teams to the fire, and the State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray went to full Level 1 activation to coordinate the response, with State Fire Marshal's Office staff both traveling to the scene and coordinating remotely. Command of the incident transferred from Benton County to the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team at 10 p.m. Friday, a standard step once a fire's size and complexity justify bringing in a dedicated incident management structure.

Damage and Overnight Progress

At least one home has been confirmed destroyed, with damage assessments continuing as crews get further into the burned area. No injuries — to firefighters or civilians — had been reported as of Saturday morning. Benton County Emergency Services said overnight crews succeeded in stopping the fire's forward spread, shifting Saturday's operational focus from active suppression to reinforcing containment lines around the existing perimeter and evaluating both fire damage and the progress made overnight. That's a meaningful, if early, sign — a fire that isn't actively pushing new ground gives hand crews and dozers room to build and hold line rather than simply chasing the fire's edge.

What Happens Next

With forward progress stopped, expect the next containment percentage to move from 0% relatively quickly as line is finished and mop-up begins along the fire's edge — though Level 3 and Level 2 evacuation orders are likely to stay in place until crews are confident the perimeter will hold, particularly given how quickly this fire moved on its first afternoon. The cause remains under investigation, and a fuller damage assessment — including any additional structures lost beyond the one confirmed home — should become clearer as county assessors get access to the burned area behind fire lines.

Where to Get Live Updates

• Benton County Emergency Services (bces.wa.gov/currentemergencies) — official evacuation zone maps and road closure updates.
• Watch Duty — live, human-verified updates on the Second Street Fire's containment and evacuation status.
• Washington State Department of Transportation (wsdot.com) — current status of I-82 and SR 224.
• Washington State Fire Marshal's Office — statewide mobilization updates and resource deployment.

This is a developing story. We'll update this article as Benton County Emergency Services and the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team release further information on containment, evacuations, and damage.