Firefighters stopped a field fire in Toledo from spreading this afternoon. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 2
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
It’s fire weather.
Any fires that get started could spread rapidly with the combination of wind and low humidity through this evening, according to the National Weather Service.
It’s hot, it’s dry and northeast winds from 8 to 14 mph, and afternoon gusts near 20 mph, are what’s fueled the concern.
The so-called red flag warning is in effect for the Interstate 5 corridor from Lewis to King counties until 9 o’clock tonight, according to the weather service.
Already today, a Toledo area resident’s grass field caught on fire while he was using his tractor and brush hog attachment.
“Maybe the blade hit a rock or a piece of metal in the field, caused a spark, and away she went,” Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Grant Wiltbank said. “It’s really dry.”
The flames charred about a half an acre on the 100 block of Boone Road.
Three members of the department who responded to the 2:18 p.m. call quickly extinguished the fire, Wiltbank said.
Wiltbank said it’s the most tinder dry conditions he’s seen in the seven years he’s been in Lewis County.
Had the field fire jumped Boone Road, he said, it would have taken several fire districts to contain it.
The chief suggests that for the next couple of days folks do all the things they know they should do in terms of being extra careful, such as not leaving a barbecue or recreational fire unattended.
“Until it cools off and we get some rain, the fire danger is going to remain high,” he said.
Flames charred about a half an acre on the 100 block of Boone Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 2
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I lived in Yakima for a minute and this was a common occurance . People were warned frequently to clear an area to park farm equipment so as not to cause fires . When you are used to living where water is plentiful this is amazing . I learned alot about the politics of water , who has it , who needs it , and the days you are supposed to water . It was quite the education .A friend of mine who lived in Gleed was in the city limits but her land was also part of the irrigation system , but if she hooked up it left her neighbor wanting as the neighbor had big fields of Alfalfa to water, so my friend just stayed on city water. The neighbor was elderly and had lived on this land since birth. What was weird to me is that in the midst of all this agriculture the freeway was only a few blocks away.