A brush fire broke out near electronic music duo Odesza‘s show at The Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA, on Saturday, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office reported. Sparks from the show’s pyrotechnics ignited nearby sagebrush and grass during the last song, burning a small area adjacent to the concert venue. The Gorge staff responded to the flames with hoses, and the scheduled encore was canceled, sending attendees home early. No one was injured.
“Gorge employees with water hoses were pre-positioned at the periphery of the venue in the event that there was a fire,” the Grant County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Kyle Foreman wrote in a statement. “The size estimate was about one-quarter of an acre, or roughly one-quarter of a football field.”
“The fire was contained and fortunately was quickly extinguished,” according to a social media post by the The Gorge Amphitheatre. “Out of an abundance of caution and safety, the show ended without an encore. We truly appreciate everyone coming tonight and celebrating the end of the tour.”
After a three-night run at The Gorge, the Saturday performance marked the final show in Odesza’s three-year “The Last Goodbye” tour. During their live show, Odesza — made up of Harrison ”Catacombkid” Mills and Clayton “BeachesBeaches” Knight — performed with a thunderous drum line, strobing lights, colorful visuals, and flames shooting from the stage. The Gorge issued a “high heat warning” ahead of the show, and The Washington State Department of Natural Resources also reported “very high” wildfire danger, according to the Sherriff’s Office. Odesza representatives have not responded to a request for comment.
Odesza spoke to Rolling Stone in 2018 about crafting theatrical and cinematic moments during the last leg of their A Moments Apart tour, which included more than 200 moving lights, six trucks, four buses, video elements and live band members.
“It’s a lot of moving pieces, but it keeps the energy up and keeps the show more interesting,” Knight, one-half of Odesza, told Rolling Stone. “We love taking people on this roller-coaster ride of energy, and I think, when you do that right, the big moments feel a lot bigger, and the intimate moments feel a lot more intimate.”
