Fire crews suspect a ricocheting bullet or illegal ammunition started a brush fire on the hill above the Rattlesnake Mountain Shooting Facility north of Benton City Sunday morning.
The call came in just before 10:30 a.m. and burned more than 400 acres before crews got the blaze under control.
Benton County Fire District 2 Chief Ron Duncan said the fire could have been much worse, and adds that fire crews are preparing for events just like this, by clearing fire-breaks with bulldozers in areas that can be problematic. He said preparations like this are especially important this year, because the dry grass in the area looks more like it would around late-summer, rather than mid-June.