A wildland fire near the junction of Highways 282 and 17 south of Ephrata drew a multi-agency response Monday afternoon. Grant County Fire District 13 Battalion Chief Casey McDonnell says they got the call about 1:30 with smoke showing from Ephrata. “It’s in an area that has pretty high potential for fire growth so at that time, Ephrata Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 5 were requested as mutual aid. On arrival the first units found 2-3 acres of active fire line which end up spreading to about 20 acres before it was contained.” McDonnell says they also received assistance from BLM and the U.S. Forest Service as it bordered federal land. Crews were about a little under four hours during the response. GCFD 13 says despite the menacing look the fire had to those living off RD A NW, firefighters kept the fire a great distance from any homes.