Fireworks are being investigated as the cause of an early Sunday morning fire that destroyed a home and barn and charred 55 acres in Terrace Heights.
The East Valley Fire Department released more information on the Hillcrest Fire, which was called in at 12:43 a.m. Sunday morning in the 900 block of 33rd Street in Terrace Heights. The brush fire was pushed by 20-30 mph winds and quickly spread to a vacant home on the property, and burned a small three-stall barn on the west side of Hardy Drive. No one was injured.
The news release said the fire started near the barn and an investigation found remnants of spent fireworks and empty alcohol containers in the area. No other ignition sources or lightning could have sparked the fire, so "illegal fireworks use" is being investigated as the cause, the release said.
鈥淭his has been a problem area on the 4th of July for many years, with EVFD extinguishing other fires in this area,鈥 the release said. 鈥淗owever, past fires did not have such powerful winds pushing the fire.鈥
The department asks that any residents on East Hillcrest Drive with cameras facing the street contact Fire Chief Ray Lamoureux.
The department is looking for footage that might have captured vehicles driving to where the fire started and leaving the area around 12:40 a.m. The footage also can be turned over to the Yakima County Sheriff鈥檚 Office.
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