A Tri-Cities couple recently lost their baby. Now the Zintel Canyon fire took their home

Cameron Probert
·4 min read

A young Kennewick couple lost their home in a wind-driven blaze Sunday less than two weeks after their baby died at birth.

Firefighters are still trying to determine how the two-alarm fire in Zintel Canyon started and spread to 22 homes, destroying one and scorching another.

The blaze left Connie McKee’s son and daughter-in-law without anything, according to a Facebook post. And it was the latest tragedy faced by the couple. Their son died two hours after he was born on May 9, according to the GoFundMe that McKee started to help the couple.

“Please they need it more then ever, as if the death of their baby wasn’t bad enough,” she said. “They all just lost their home in a devastating house fire this afternoon in the Zintel Canyon fire. They literally lost everything they owned.” To donate go to bit.ly/ZintelHelp.

Investigators are still sorting through the smoldering aftermath of about 30 acres of dense brush and trees in the city park that’s mostly a natural area with walking trails.

Smoke from smoldering trees rises into the air in Kennewick’s Zintel Canyon as viewed early Monday morning from the West 10th Avenue bridge. A brush fire pushed by gusting winds Sunday afternoon destroyed one house and scorched the canyon area between 7th and 10th Avenues.
Smoke from smoldering trees rises into the air in Kennewick’s Zintel Canyon as viewed early Monday morning from the West 10th Avenue bridge. A brush fire pushed by gusting winds Sunday afternoon destroyed one house and scorched the canyon area between 7th and 10th Avenues.

People reported flames coming from the canyon below the 10th Avenue bridge shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, Kennewick Deputy Fire Chief Michael Heffner told the Herald.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but witnesses reported seeing several people leave the area of the fire shortly after it started. It’s a popular place for walking but also has had trouble with people illegally camping there.

In 2018, a series of fires charred more than 10 acres and forced the city to close the popular recreation area, which includes the Spirit of America Trail, for days at a time.

Sunday’s fire was being pushed by a steady wind gusts of 15 to 25 mph as it burned north through the canyon. Firefighters worked to try to keep it contained to the canyon and away from the homes along the edges.

But it ended up burning the rental home owned by Glen Clark at 2212 Eighth Place, as well as a shed. Another home had minor damage from the fire.

The 2,400 square-foot rambler owned by Glen Clark as a rental property at 2212 South 8th Pl. in Kennewick has a partially collapsed roof and sustained heavy interior and exterior damage after catching fire during Sunday’s brushfire in Zintel Canyon. No injuries were reported in the fire.
The 2,400 square-foot rambler owned by Glen Clark as a rental property at 2212 South 8th Pl. in Kennewick has a partially collapsed roof and sustained heavy interior and exterior damage after catching fire during Sunday’s brushfire in Zintel Canyon. No injuries were reported in the fire.

Firefighters from across Benton and Franklin counties responded and had the fire under control by about 8 p.m. One firefighter needed first aid at the scene but no othe injuries were reported.

Crews stayed through the night monitoring and putting out any other hot spots that flared up. The fire was entirely contained by Monday morning.

Eighth Place near 10th Avenue remained closed as firefighters continue to monitor the area.

A Kennewick firefigher uses a shovel to extinguish a smoldering hot spot early Monday morning on the eastern edge of Zintel Canyon near South 8th Place.
A Kennewick firefigher uses a shovel to extinguish a smoldering hot spot early Monday morning on the eastern edge of Zintel Canyon near South 8th Place.

Investigators are trying to determine how the fire spread from the canyon toward the homes. It is possible that embers could have landed on buildings or it burned through vegetation next to the structures.

The popular walking area, which stretches from Seventh Avenue to 24th Avenue is managed by the city and owned by a patchwork of agencies including Kennewick Irrigation District and Benton PUD.

The section of Zintel Canyon Park between 7th Avenue and 10th Avenue is currently closed to the public. Trees are continuing to fall in the area. In addition burned tree roots can make otherwise sturdy ground treacherous.

Officials are not certain how long the park will need to stay closed.

A California Quail balances on a charred tree branch early Monday morning following the previous days’ brush fire in Zintel Canyon in Kennewick.
A California Quail balances on a charred tree branch early Monday morning following the previous days’ brush fire in Zintel Canyon in Kennewick.

Hanford fire

Another fire started by lightning at the Hanford nuclear reservation burned about 1,300 acres before it was contained by the Hanford Fire Department early Sunday evening.

No structures or areas with radiological contamination burned, according to the Department of Energy.

A wildfire at the Hanford site in Eastern Washington burned about 1,300 acres on Sunday.
A wildfire at the Hanford site in Eastern Washington burned about 1,300 acres on Sunday.

The fire burned east of the Hanford tank farms, where 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste are stored in the center of the 580-square-mile site.

The fire was stopped to the north on Route 11A, which is south of Gable Mountain. It burned west of Route 2 South and east of the tank farms.

It was discovered about 11:40 a.m. Sunday.

Environmental cleanup is underway at the 580-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation. The underground radioactive waste storage tanks and the vitrification plant are in the center of the site.
Environmental cleanup is underway at the 580-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation. The underground radioactive waste storage tanks and the vitrification plant are in the center of the site.

The site near Richland was used from World War II through the Cold War to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

Environmental cleanup is underway on the site where radioactive waste is stored in underground tanks and crews work to clean up contaminated buildings, waste sites, soil and groundwater.

Reporter Annette Cary contributed to this report.