Fireworks blamed for blaze at hops kiln

HARRAH, Wash. — A juvenile playing with fireworks caused a hop kiln fire Friday near Harrah that displaced 19 people and caused more than $800,000 in damages, according to a fire official with Yakima County Fire District No. 5.

The fire was reported at 6:48 p.m. Friday one mile north of Harrah at Caribou Ranches, 6560 Progressive Road. Nine fire stations and 50 firefighters responded to the blaze, which engulfed about 250 tons of hay, a former hop kiln building and another building that had been converted into three apartments for workers.

The Red Cross is helping the displaced workers with housing and clothing. One person was treated for hyperventilation but did not require medical transport, and no one else was injured, said Capt. Landon Lommers of District 5.

Lommers said a boy about 9 years old confessed to accidentally starting the fire by igniting fireworks inside a storage building. The investigation has since been passed to the Yakima County Fire Department. Lommers did not know whether charges had been filed.

Fireworks are illegal at that property, where hay, wheat and other crops are grown, Lommers said.