EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. — The Batterman Fire, which started about noon on the Fourth of July, grew to 7,900 acres by Monday evening, burning brush and grass in steep terrain near East Wenatchee and Rock Island.

About 10% of the fire’s perimeter was contained, and firefighters burned the west side of Rock Island Grade to hold the fire’s southeastern line, according to the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team out of Pasco.

Doug Bromiley, who ranches with his brothers Mike and Clark, said they and neighbors lost little wheat because it’s still too green but are fighting fire and moving cows.

“The Keanes lost all their pasture and got 60 of their 80 (mother-calf pairs) in with three calves missing,” Bromiley said. He added that Vernon Breiler, another rancher, was moving cows last night.

The Bromileys, Keanes and Breiler have a total of 300 cow-calf pairs, and family and friends helped them move cows and fight fire, he said.

Bromiley said he disced around his Conservation Reserve Program land to save sage grouse habitat and probably disced more wheat under to build fire breaks than what burned.

The fire remains most active in its northeast corner in the Rock Island Creek and Beaver Creek drainages, said Heather Appelhof, fire spokeswoman. Crews were working there Tuesday to secure the corner and work westward along the northern edge, she said.

Some 177 personnel, 36 fire engines, six bulldozers, two helicopters and three large air tankers were working on the fire. Efforts there Monday were hampered by wind gusting to 24 mph, temperatures reaching 100 degrees and low humidity, Appelhof said.

There is concern about the potential of thunderstorms and wind on Wednesday, she said.

The fire was reported at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday and started on dryland just north of Grant Road and Ward Street on the east edge of East Wenatchee.

The cause is being investigated. There is no indication it was fireworks, said Kay McKellar, spokeswoman for Douglas County Fire District 2.

The origin is fairly close to the tree fruit warehouses of Northern Fruit Co., Stemilt Growers and Columbia Fruit Packers and the Polaris and Sabey data centers but none of those facilities were damaged.

It was also close to the east end of the 575-acre Legacy Orchard of McDougall & Sons tree fruit company.

“My orchard manager said it was about a mile from the orchard. I think it maybe was a little closer,” said Scott McDougall, company president.

Occupants of about 80 homes were ordered to evacuate or prepare to evacuate as the fire spread Sunday afternoon, but no houses or structures were known to be damaged or lost by Monday morning, McKellar said.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, she said.