A Café Spark, a 35-Mile Gale, and Ephrata Burned
A fire that began in the Club Cafe overwhelmed 300 fighters from Quincy, Wilson Creek and Ephrata; damage reached $120,000 with insurance listed at $9,000.
EPHRATA, Wash., March 14.—With 300 men from Quincy, Wilson Creek and Ephrata fighting flames which started in the Club Cafe here Sunday, a 35-mile gale threw the fire beyond control. When chemical engines from nearby towns had finally checked the spread, the damage totaled $120,000, with insurance listed at $9,000.
“With 300 men from Quincy, Wilson Creek and Ephrata fighting flames ... a 35-mile gale threw the fire beyond control.”
Ephrata's 1910 fire shows how fast a single business-district spark could become a town-wide loss before modern building codes and mutual-aid systems. The same pattern—wind-driven fire, volunteer crews, thin insurance—still shapes wildfire risk across eastern Washington.
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