Range 12 Fire

The Range 12 Fire was a large wildfire that burned 176,600 acres (71,500 ha) in Benton and Yakima County, Washington, United States, from July 30 to August 8, 2016. No injuries or fatalities resulted from the fire, and no building damage was reported. The fire threatened the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and burnt parts of the Hanford Reach National Monument and the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, the third time in sixteen years. Over 400 personnel from various federal, state, and local agencies and organizations responded to contain and extinguish the fire, which costed $1.7 million (equivalent to $2.3 million in 2025).

The fire was caused by a round of ammunition from machine gun fire that ricocheted and landed on brush at the Yakima Training Center during a live fire exercise, igniting the fire. Hot, dry, and windy conditions in the area caused the fire to spread rapidly through grassland throughout the first four days until it was primarily contained on August 2. Following the fire in 2018, a $15 million lawsuit was filed by ranchers in the area whose property was damaged by the fire against the Department of Defense directed at personnel working at the Yakima Training Center, claiming that their fire response was inadequate. The lawsuit was later dismissed due to questions of jurisdiction.