Lewis County Sirens.com

Firefighters with DNR could see a smoke column from a Toledo fire on Herriford Road all the way in Castle Rock and responded to assist. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 2.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Firefighters were called about 4:30 a.m. today when flames were seen on a long residential driveway in Adna.

They were into the trees and crawling up some stumps, burning an area of about 100 feet by 50 feet, according to Lewis County Fire District 6.

The fire on the 600 block of Brockway Road is under investigation by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Firefighter Mike Goodwillie said.

Personnel from Lewis County Fire District 5 assisted, he said.

Goodwillie said there were a couple of minor injuries from falls, from working to extinguish the fire on the steep bank in the dark.

Meanwhile, a fire yesterday afternoon that burned as many as four acres of a field of grain south of Toledo appeared to have ignited from farm equipment working on the property at the time.

Crews from Toledo, Winlock, and Vader as well as two brush units with the state Department of Natural Resources which saw the smoke column from Castle Rock encountered a wind-driven fire but brought it under control within a half hour after their arrival, according to Lewis County Fire District 2.

It was reported about 4:30 p.m. at the 100 block of Herriford Road, according to Chief Grant Wiltbank.

And DNR reported this morning the large forest fire five miles southwest of Pe Ell is covering 117 acres but is 30 percent contained.

The blaze is burning in recently harvested timber, slash and mature timber on property owned by Rayonier. More than 200 individuals have been battling it.

The plan for today was to build and complete containment lines, according to DNR spokesperson Nick Cronquist.

The Fork Peak fire reported on Thursday evening is in Pacific County, at the Lewis County line. Its cause remains under investigation, according to Cronquist.

“The 2014 fire season is not over,” Cronquist stated in a morning memo. “With temperatures remaining high and no significant weather in the forecast, be mindful of areas around your home with potential of fire risk.”

In the Salkum area, the fire chief has this message for the public today: “The burn ban is still on,” Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said.

McDaniel said he and other fire chiefs continue to get late night calls for bon fires not in approved receptacles.

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For background, see ” ‘Really big’ wildfire spreading southwest of Pe Ell” from Friday Sept. 12, 2014 at 9:15 p.m., here

The Fork Peak fire in eastern Pacific County is 30 percent contained this morning. / Courtesy photo by Mary Huels, DNR

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A helicopter drops water on the Fork Peak Fire southwest of Pe Ell. / Courtesy photo by Mary Huels, DNR

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A motorcycle accident on state Route 6 near Pe Ell yesterday killed one and injured five other motorcyclists, shutting the roadway for hours.

Troopers called just after 2 p.m. to the scene four miles west of town found a group of about 20 motorcyclists had begun their ride in Cowlitz County, ridden a loop on Highway 101 and were heading back toward Chehalis when it happened.

Members of two fire departments and medics with AMR responded to treat the patients, one of which was airlifted from the school, according to Lewis County Fire District 11 Chief Michael Krafczyk.

According to the Washington State Patrol, it began when Shawn M. Jessee, 41, of Longview, failed to negotiate a left-hand curve, lost control of his Honda VTX180 on the gravel shoulder and hit the guardrail. He and his passenger Teresa F. Jessee, 47, of Longview, were both ejected but his bike headed back into the eastbound lane where it was struck by another motorcyclist.

That rider, Ronald L. Carr, 56, of Castle Rock, was ejected.

A third motorcyclist, Cheryl F. Palm, 50, also of Castle Rock, lost control, landed on the roadway and was hit by a fourth bike, according to the state patrol.

Krafczyk said firefighters started CPR on Teresa F. Jessee, but arriving medics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Responders from Lewis County Fire District 16 set up a landing zone at the Pe Ell school, and Palm was flown to Oregon Health and Sciences University Hospital, according to responders.

All were wearing helmets, Trooper Terry Brunstad said.

The state Department of Transportation shut down the highway, for about five hours while troopers conducted their investigation, Brunstad said. There was nowhere to create a detour, he said.

“The road was just littered with bikes and parts,” Brunstad said.

A spokesperson for Providence Centralia Hospital said this morning that Shawn M. Jessee was treated and has been released. Carr was treated and transferred to an unspecified hospital, spokesperson Chris Thomas said.

The man and woman from Clatskanie traveling on the fourth motorcycle were injured but not hospitalized, and their Harley Davidson was able to be driven from the scene, according to the state patrol.

A fixed-wing plane flies over the wildfire at the Pacific-Lewis county line. / Courtesy photo by Mary Huels, DNR

Updated at 9:33 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A forest fire burning southwest of Pe Ell has drawn some 200 individuals who have set up camp for the night at the Falls Creek Retreat Center about 10 miles west of town in Pacific County.

The fire was reported at 5:15 p.m. yesterday and is on private timberland owned by Rayonier.

“Right now it’s all industrial timberland, not a large threat to any homes or personal property,” Nick Cronquist, a spokesperson for the state Department of Natural Resources said this evening.

Late this afternoon, flames had run over some 93 acres, according to Cronquist. It doubled in size overnight.

“It’s really big for this neck of the woods,” he said. “It boils down to the weather we’re having.”

Seven fire engines, eight water tenders and 13 hand crews battled the blaze today, along with three helicopters, plus a fixed wing plane which is supervising all the aircraft, he said. It’s zero percent contained.

The firefighters come from local area fire districts, DNR and even some from the National Forest Service, he said.

A tanker which would fill its belly with water from Willapa Bay was ordered, but Cronquist said he didn’t know if it got any runs in before the sun went down.

The smoke and glow are within eye site of the town of Pe Ell, at the far west end of Lewis County, he said.

A crew from the Larch Correctional Facility brought a kitchen in, he said.

The National Weather Service began warning earlier this week that an expected combination of low humidity and east winds would cause vegetation to dry out, making conditions ripe for wild fires.

Lewis County Fire District 11 Chief Michael Krafczyk was among those who gathered this morning at the VFW Hall in Pe Ell to strategize for the day. District 11 provided water support today.

The fire is under the command of DNR’s Pacific Cascade Region.

Nobody has been injured, Cronquist said, but winds yesterday evening caused them to pull crews off the fire.

No night operations were planned, but two engines will monitor the fire, he said.

A morning briefing is planned for 6 a.m., and they’ll get back at it, he said.

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CORRECTION: This news story has been updated to correctly reflect the number of hand crews working the fire today.

Local fire departments join crews from DNR battling wildfire at the Pacific-Lewis county line. / Courtesy photo by Mary Huels, DNR

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Courtesy image Department of Natural Resources