It took more than 50 firefighters to contain flames that spread through pastures into a tree farm. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 15
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources are back on the scene today of a fire that scorched some 15 acres of farmland in Winlock yesterday.
Firefighters called at 5 p.m. to the 700 block of Nevil Road found an area of approximately 200 feet by 200 feet burning in a field that had been hayed, according to Lewis County Fire District 15.
As many as 50 members of five fire departments plus DNR joined them as wind gusts from the west pushed the flames into a tree farm and adjacent fields, threatening homes and outbuildings, Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson said.
He described the location as south of Nevil Road, roughly three-quarters of a mile west of North Military Road.
“With the wind conditions, it was an extended firefight,” Anderson said.
Heavy equipment was deployed by DNR to establish a line around the fire, Anderson said. It was stopped probably 20 feet from structures on its south side, he said.
Nobody was injured. District 15 resources were on the scene until 11:30 p.m. and DNR personnel monitored the area overnight and have returned today, according to Anderson.
DNR is looking into its cause, he said.
Anderson asks the public to take extra care to limit any sources of ignition.
The moisture content of vegetation remains very low and with the temperatures forecast over the next week and half, fire danger remains high, he said.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter