Homes were evacuated during a wildfire near Centralia on Aug. 2.
Numerous agencies, including those from Grays Harbor and Thurston counties, were called to a wildfire that threatened the homes on Kuper Court off of 201st Avenue in Centralia.
Capt. Lanette Dyer of the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority said they got called out to the fire just before 4 p.m.
“We were deployed to a fire out on Kuper Court. It was a small grass fire with winds moving steadily at about 15 mph,” Dyer said. “It was a wicked advancement and by the time people were on scene it had gone 10 acres.”
Shawn Burdett, public information officer at Grays Harbor Fire District 1, said the winds weren’t the only contributing factor to the fire.
“It was fueled by winds coming from the north and very, very dry conditions in the fields that the houses backed up to,” he said.
Burdett noted that at one time some 40 homes were in danger including his own. He was the first to address the situation after getting home when things started to heat up.
“When I first showed up at my house, there was nobody on scene but me. So I quickly dressed up in my bunker gear and that’s when I started with the hoses and the evacuations,” he said.
Residents who were in danger of losing their homes to the blaze were assisted by not only fire personnel but also their fellow neighbors. Burdett said the owners of homes not in immediate danger of the fire were quick to grab hoses and haul them across the street in an effort to wet down fences and slow the progression of the fire.
“As a resident, it was very scary,” Burdett said. “As a dad it’s very scary to lose everything you own, but the firefighters did a fantastic job and within an hour to an hour and a half that fire was about 90 percent contained.”
Roughly 100 firefighters responded along with a Department of Natural Resources helicopter that dropped water specifically to protect two homes that were in immediate danger from the fire. Burdett said the homes were surrounded 360 degrees by the fire but thanks to the efforts of firefighters and the DNR both were saved.
Dyer said on Aug. 4 strike and hand crews totalling about 35 people were on scene helping residents get things back in order by doing what clean up and repairs they could. She said firefighters and others assisting with the wildfire have been receiving thanks from the community.
“People started clapping for them and just said thank you,” Dyer said. “They were really taken back by everyone’s generous thank yous and camaraderie. It really gave them a lot of encouragement to be there.”
Two outbuildings were destroyed by the fire as was one garage, one car and nearly 33 acres of land. A DNR firefighter, a 23-year-old female, suffered minor hand injuries. Riverside Fire Authority, the McLane Black Lake Fire Department, the Griffin Fire Department, South Thurston Fire Authority, Grays Harbor Fire District 1, the Olympia Fire Department and Lacey Fire District 3 assisted with the fire as did the DNR. Thurston County Public Works and hand crews from Cedar Creek also assisted.
The fire is currently under investigation.
A resident at Kuper Court said he believed the fire was started by barbeque charcoals from the night before. He said they were kicked over on Wednesday morning and the grass was eventually ignited.
