More than six months after the South Wenas Fire destroyed thousands of acres just north of Selah, we are finally learning what caused the fire.
The South Wenas Fire was one of the bigger fires we saw over the summer in the Yakima area. It torched nearly 3,000 acres and threatened homes.
According to the Department of Natural Resources investigation, the day the fire started, two SWAT officers with the Yakima Police Department were shooting on private property for a qualification test. The report says bullets from the live fire exercise hit old farm equipment and ricocheted.
"One of these bullet projectiles, whether from a ricochet or a direct impact, severed a power line owned by Pacific Power."