ELLENSBURG — A new wildfire has burned across about 60 acres of brush south of Ellensburg in central Washington, threatening several radio towers and temporarily closing a nearby section of interstate highway.
The state Transportation Department said a section of southbound Interstate 82 was closed Thursday evening in the Manastash Ridge area.
Brant Stanger at the Central Washington Interagency Communications Center said three helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft were fighting the fire with help from more than 60 firefighters on the ground. There is no containment figure yet for the blaze that was reported about 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Stanger says no homes are threatened but some radio or cell towers are believed to be in the fire area.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
