Fire destroys Elberton barn; crews stop it short of trees

Fire crews from Garfield, Palouse, Colfax, Steptoe and Albion responded Saturday to a barn fire just south of Elberton. The barn was located on the Draper-Brown Road approach into Elberton.

The vintage barn was engulfed in flames when the first fire crew, from Garfield, arrived at the scene, Chief Chris McCully said.

The fire had ignited stubble which threatened the Ron Brodenson residence and protecting the residence became the number-one priority.

Broderson said he and his son were working outside when they smelled smoke.

“We just figured the smoke from Wenatchee had come back,” said Broderson.

They then saw the huge black plume of smoke from the barn fire over the hill above their house and saw it begin to spread downhill through the stubble field.

Broderson said he began packing up his things to evacuate his residence after he saw the fire come down the hill in the stubble.

“But then I saw this truck come tearing over the hill, spraying all sorts of water out of its front hose,” he said.

By then, the stubble fire had reached grassland at the south edge of the Elberton county park and threatened to burn into the park’s dry timber but was extinguished before it could.

Broderson said a gust of wind pushed the fire to the east, away from the park and his house, toward the Palouse River valley upstream from Elberton, but crews quickly put it out.

Colfax volunteers received the report at 1:35 p.m. Saturday and were on the scene for more than three hours.

The barn was located on property leased by VanTine Farms. Donald VanTine said the structure was built in two stages with the original stage unuseable and the second lean-to stage used occasionally for storage.

VanTine said the fire apparently started when a pickup truck ignited dry grass next to the barn. He also credited fire crew volunteers for keeping the fire from taking out the Broderson place and keeping it from spreading into the timber around areas where it could have become a real problem.

Firefighters told Broderson the paint on their trucks had begun to get sticky from the heat of the fire.

The barn, which was known as the Center Barn, for several years was part of the farming operation of the late Omer Brown of Elberton who leased the land from the family members of the original owners.