More than two dozen firefighters worked the area off Hilt Road in Rochester last night. / Courtesy photo by West Thurston Regional Fire Authority
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Flames spread over a little more than three acres in Rochester yesterday evening but crews stopped them before they afflicted any homes.
Firefighters were called just after 5 p.m. for a brush fire in the area of U.S. Highway 12 and 183rd Avenue Southwest but found their fire off of Hilt, Denmark and Roseburg streets, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.
They were joined by several neighboring fire departments to tackle the fast moving long, skinny fire on the backside of various properties, Lt. Lanette Dyer said.
A 22-year-old firefighter was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and dehydration, Dyer said. She was treated and home by about 11:30 p.m., she said.
Dyer said although one pump house burned, a dozen homes were saved.
The scene was turned over to personnel from the state Department of Natural Resources around 7:30 p.m. They planned to watch overnight.
The Chehalis Fire Department kept busy yesterday stamping out small fires, three of them caused by cigarettes tossed into the bark of planting beds at the Twin City Town Center.
A fourth brush fire that broke out along Shoreline Drive was also caused by a cigarette, according to Fire Capt. Ted McCarty.
McCarty said a man said he dropped a cigarette as he and others were being chased out of the area of the old city treatment plant. He approached a deputy at a gas station on Main Street and said he thought he might have ignited a fire, McCarty said.
“And the deputy looked up to see the smoke,” McCarty said. It was held to about an eighth of an acre, he said.
It’s only going to get worse, McCarty said.
An excessive heat warning is in place for much of Western Washington through Friday, with the potential for record-breaking temperatures on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. A fire weather watch is advising that conditions will be favorable for the rapid spread of any fires.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Brooke Bova reminded motorists via Twitter today that throwing a lit cigarette out the window of a vehicle can also earn them a $1,025 ticket.
Authorities are reminding the public of steps to take to avoid heat illnesses, such as drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors.
Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances, the NWS advises.
“This is especially true during hot weather when car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes,” the NWS stated in a bulletin this morning.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Thank you so much to all of our faithful firefighters! We appreciate your diligence and hard work protecting us from harm! Stay safe and may God watch out over all of you!