[UPDATED]High Winds Bring Sudden Fires & Closed Roads to Benton County

Fires Spring Up During Tuesday Wind Storm

With the high winds and dry weather, fires are springing up in Benton County and now roads in the area have been closed.

Benton County Warns of Fire Danger & Closes Roads

# Updated 6:13 pm

From the Benton County Sheriff's Office: "Regional Benton County Fire Districts are battling a large natural cover fire off the Horse Heaven Hills near McBee Grade. Evacuation notifications are being initiated in the Kiona area of Benton City. We are asking the public to stay clear of the Webber Canyon/Kiona area as our regional fire partners are working to control the blaze."

Today high winds started to hit the Tri-Cities area and the Benton County Sheriff's Office immediately started getting reports of fires popping up. The Benton County Sheriff's Office teamed up with Fire District 1 to contain a 250-acre fire in the Hover area.

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Right now no structures are being threatened in this area but they have shut down the road in the area for traffic until they can get the fire under control.

Benton County Sherrif's Office Closes Fire Area

The Benton County Sheriff's Office closed the roadway between Hover to Ayer's Road in order to give the fire crews room to work and stop the fire before it gets any bigger. Currently, there has been no cause listed for this sudden fire recently announced but the Benton County Sheriff's Office wants people to avoid that area until further notice. This is a developing story and when more information is released, we will post updates here.

Wind Forecast for Tonight: Up to 50 MPH Gusts

The weather forecast for tonight around 9 pm calls for the possibility of gusts up to 50 MPH and sustained winds above 20 MPH. They also warn of low relative humidity between 20 to 25 percent and warn that "any fires that start will have the potential to
spread rapidly given the strong wind and low humidity".