Keys Road fire in Terrace Heights in mop up (2024)

Firefighters from around the Yakima Valley, along with aircraft, battled a wildfire on the west side of Terrace Heights that started Friday morning.

The Keys Road Fire burned about 25 acres as of 4:30 p.m., said Tony Miller, Yakima County Emergency Management Director. Initial estimates put the acreage at 50, but Miller said firefighters were able to get a more precise measure of the area of the fire.

The fire was contained and in mop-up on Saturday morning, said Ryan Rodruck, spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources. Firefighters were expected to remain on site through the evening as necessary.

An evacuation notice was lowered to Level 2 “be ready” on Friday evening encompassing the intersection of University Parkway and North Keys Road and heads west to the Yakima River and south to West Birchfield Road, Miller said. The area covered Yakima Sportsman State Park.

Miller said about eight homes were affected by the evacuation order.

Pacific Power shut down power to many customers in the area Friday morning, with the initial outage covering Terrace Heights and downtown Yakima.

The fire started at 9:39 a.m., and the cause is under investigation. The first evacuation order was issued around 10:45 a.m. The fire burned timber and high-growth marsh grasses.

Airplanes and helicopters dropped water on the blaze.

Miller said fire crews from East Valley, Yakima, West Valley, Yakima County Fire District 5, Naches Heights, Highland, Naches, Hanford, the Yakima Training Center and the state Department of Natural Resources responded.

A Type 4 incident management team was called up to manage two state strike teams heading to Yakima, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office.

The American Red Cross opened an evacuation center at Terrace Heights Elementary School.

Elsewhere in the valley, firefighters contained a small brush fire on Osborne Road near Wapato on Friday afternoon.