On Tuesday afternoon, emergency crews responded to a large field fire north of Pullman at the Washington State University Cook Agronomy Farm, located off Whelan Road. Whitman County Fire District 12 Volunteers from Pullman received the call around 1:15 PM and were joined by volunteers from District 4 in Palouse, the Moscow Rural Fire Department, and a brush truck crew from the City of Pullman.

A helicopter from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, stationed at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport, assisted by dropping water on the flames. Local farmers also contributed to the firefighting efforts by plowing around the flames, which played a significant role in containing the fire.

The blaze affected approximately 200 acres, including stubble, standing grain, and some scattered timber and brush. Fire crews managed to bring the fire under control by around 2:00 PM.

The fire was reportedly initiated by a grain truck that caught fire, which then spread to the surrounding field. Notably, this incident marks the second field fire in the Pullman area attributed to equipment at a WSU research farm within the past week.