Benton County – State fire assistance has been mobilized under the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan in support of local firefighters working to contain the Hover Road and Hansen Road Fires located in Benton County, near the city of Finley. Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized the mobilization of state firefighting resources on June 13, 2023, at 4:15 p.m. at the request of Fire Chief Lonnie Click, Benton County Fire District 1, and Fire Chief Dennis Bates, Benton County Fire District 2.
The Hover Road and Hansen Road Fires, started on June 13, 2023, at approximately 3:25 p.m. These fires are estimated at 1000 acres combined and growing. It is burning in grass, brush, timber and is threatening homes. Level 2 evacuations are in effect at this time. The cause of the fires are currently under investigation.
The State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray remains activated at Level 3 to help coordinate state assistance for the Hover Road and Hansen Road Fires. Mobilization specialists from the Fire Protection Bureau have ordered 4 strike teams, air resources, and the fires will be managed by a Type 3 Incident Management Team. State Fire Marshal’s Office personnel are both en route to the scene and working remotely to coordinate the dispatch of resources.
Under the State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan, the Fire Protection Bureau coordinates the initial dispatch and continued administrative oversight of resources and personnel for the duration of the mobilization. The Mobilization Plan is implemented to provide a process to quickly notify, assemble and deploy fire service personnel, equipment and other resources from around the state when fires, disasters or other events exceed the capacity of local jurisdictions. More information about the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan is available at: http://www.wsp.wa.gov/all-risk-mobilization/.
###