I-90 in central Washington closed again as brush fire sparks up





QUINCY, Wash. -- A brush fire along Interstate 90 near George sparked up again Monday afternoon, forcing evacuations and causing authorities to close a portion of the freeway in central Washington.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office issued a Level 3 evacuation order around 2 p.m. for about 50 homes southwest of George. The evacuations were reduced to level 1, meaning you should be prepared to evacuate if necessary, about two hours later.

The sheriff said the fire has burned 700-800 acres of grass and sage. They received one report of a trailer burning on a frontage road next to I-90. Nobody was hurt.

Washington State Patrol troopers tweeted that the brush fire, originally ignited Sunday, started up again around 12:55 p.m. near Milepost 141.



A short time later, troopers tweeted that all lanes of the road were closed from Milepost 138 to Milepost 155. It was not known how long the roadway would be closed.

The state patrol said there was heavy smoke and fire across the freeway.

About 200 personnel were at the scene.





The interstate was closed for several hours Sunday, but reopened just before 8 p.m. after troopers believed the fire to be closed. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available.