Lewis County Sirens.com

Firefighters on Friday kept a house fire on Oxford Avenue from spreading to a neighboring residence. The cause has not yet been released.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Independence Day celebrations in the Centralia area passed with no significant fireworks-related property damage, despite the tinder dry conditions outdoors, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

RFA, the largest department in Lewis County, spoke through a news release this morning, applauding those citizens who made the effort to try to reduce the risks of the fire season during their displays.

“It was my observation that folks were taking extra care this year to be sure that they had water available to them during fireworks use,” Riverside’s Public Information Officer Capt. Scott Weinert said in a written statement.

In the 24-hour hour period that included July 4, firefighters from the department responded to eight fireworks related incidents, according to Weinert.

They primarily consisted of small bush or grass fires that were extinguished or no longer burning on arrival of RFA units, he stated.

They also answered 10 other emergency medical calls.

Firefighters in the city of Chehalis made it through the holiday without any serious fireworks-related incidents, but did go out to a small brush fire today on 15th Street near William Avenue, Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said.

McCarty said he wasn’t sure what ignited it, but the individual who called it in located an unlit sparkler bomb in the area which was turned over to police.

At the other end of the county, Fourth of July could almost have been called relaxing for one fire department.

The one call Vader firefighters responded to was for a report of an illegal burn that turned out to actually be a legal campfire in a fire pit, Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District 20 Chief Richard Underdahl said.

“We were ready, but nothing happened,” Underdahl said.

They were asked to join the Toledo Fire Department last night for a tree on fire and again today for a brush fire along Toledo-Salmon Creek Road, but in both cases were told they were no longer needed before they arrived, he said.

Under current conditions, Toledo, Vader and Winlock are automatically responding jointly to any brush or other fires, he said.

At the far west end of the county, all was well in Pe Ell, according to Lewis County Fire District 11 Chief Michael Krafczyk.

In Randle, Fire Chief Jeff Jaques reports no fireworks-related fires.

And in Onalaska, there were zero fire calls for Lewis County Fire District 1.

“The public really seemed to listen to the urges from the fire world not to set off fireworks,” District 1 Chief Andrew Martin said.

Information isn’t yet available yet for other fire departments in the county.

Also, the cause of a fire that virtually gutted a two-story house at the north end of Centralia the evening before the holiday has not been released. Four fire departments battled the blaze on the 1500 block of Oxford Avenue that displaced its owner, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Nobody was hurt, but three cats were missing, Fire Chief Mike Kytta indicated.

Separately, at the far east end of the county, residents may be seeing smoke from a fire on the west flank of Mount Adams, at the approximately 5,300 foot elevation.

The fire in the wilderness area was discovered on Friday and was believed to cover about 250 acres yesterday. It is burning in areas of open stands and meadows, as well as heavy timber, according to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It’s burning near a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail.

It’s been named the Horseshoe Fire.

During initial attack on Friday, a helicopter worked to check the fire’s spread with bucket drops while a ground crew sized up the fire and evaluated containment line location. Firefighters and district recreation personnel walked the affected trails and escorted forest visitors out of the area.

It’s within the Mt. Adams Wilderness south of Riley Camp Trail #64, in the northeast portion of Skamania County. Closure information is being posted at trailheads and in affected communities.

Although Weinert with Riverside was able to offer a positive report on the holiday, he asks that everyone continue to have a heightened state of awareness of fire safety as the summer season continues.

More to come tomorrow.

Large wildfires burning in Washington state as of today include the Horseshoe fire on the west flank of Mount Adams. / Image from Northwest Interagency Coordination Center

Smoke billows from home on Oxford Avenue in Centralia. / Courtesy photo by Mandy Wilson

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Arriving firefighters this evening found a north Centralia home fully engulfed in flames and a house next door beginning to burn.

Four fire departments responded to the 6:18 p.m. call to the blaze on the 1500 block of Oxford Avenue, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

They conducted a defensive – exterior – attack, according to Fire Lt. Mark Stahl.

Nobody was injured, but the two-story house is a total loss, along with two sheds and a travel trailer, according to Riverside.

A department spokesperson indicated an elderly woman and some grown grandchildren were there at the time, but everyone got out.  Fire Chief Mike Kytta said three cats were missing.

The cause is under investigation. The resident is being assisted by the American Red Cross, according to the chief.

Although a Go-Fund-Me account set up by an individual identifying herself as a granddaughter states the 86-year-old owner lost everything due to someone letting off fireworks, the process is still underway to rule in and rule out potential causes, according to Kytta.

“Interviews and physical evidence is being processed by our team and that will take some time to complete,” Kytta stated.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – For those who were worried a week ago about the prospect of Fourth of July fireworks danger in light of the unusually parched state of grasses, shrubs, trees and other plant life, the outlook has not gotten any better.

The mercury hit 95 degrees in Chehalis today, and temperatures will continue to be well above normal through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The combination of heat, low humidity levels and dry vegetation with its risk for potential wildfires prompted even the Gifford Pinchot National Forest at mid-week to issue restrictions on campfires.

The lowlands have already seen outdoor burn bans put into place, as well as bans on campfires in state parks.

Early this week, as the governor and the commissioner of public lands strongly urged people not to use fireworks this year, the Lewis County Fire Chiefs Association had not taken a position on the matter.

However, the group’s president Gregg Peterson, who is chief of Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue, said he was very concerned going into the Fourth of July weekend.

“Have a garden hose, shovel and water handy for extinguishing any fire,” Peterson said. “We’re probably going to be very busy, so, any fire that starts, we may no get there right away.”

Also on Wednesday, the Lewis County Board of Commissioners and the county Fire Marshal’s Office issued a statement asking citizens to refrain from personal discharge of all fireworks this year, and to celebrate in other ways, including partaking in professional public fireworks displays instead.

They indicated in a news release they heard the request from some members of the public to ban them, but wouldn’t have been able to do so for this holiday, even if they’d have taken immediate action.

“The current state law leaves this office with only the option to ask for assistance from the citizens to prevent fireworks related tragedy,” they wrote in the joint news release.

Fireworks are never allowed in the national forests in the Pacific Northwest.

Gifford Pinchot and Mount Hood National Forests’ Fire Management Staff Officer Deb Roy gave the details for campers and visitors.

Open campfires, including charcoal briquettes, cooking fires and warming fires are prohibited until further notice, according to Roy. Wood or charcoal fires are only allowed in developed campgrounds, picnic areas and group campgrounds that have established metal fire pits or rings, Roy stated in a news release.

Even smoking in the Gifford Pinchot is allowed only within enclosed vehicles, buildings and developed recreation sites. Violators can be fined up to $5,000 and/ or imprisoned up to six months in jail.

The state fire marshal’s office has been issuing news releases almost daily for more than a week, advising on various safety concerns involving the use of fireworks.

Yesterday, they focused on the lingering risk after the sparklers, cones and whatever else have sputtered out.

State Fire Marshal Charles M. Duffy reminds residents that used fireworks can leave behind a great deal of debris.

Some extra attention during the disposal of what’s left behind can help reduce the likelihood of unwanted fire or injury.

Here’s what Duffy says:

• Clean up all fireworks debris.

• Submerge used fireworks in a bucket of water for fifteen minutes to ensure they are cooled down and there are no smoldering embers that can start a fire.

• Double wrap the soaked fireworks in plastic bags for disposal in your household trash.

• It is best to dump the remaining water on the ground, selecting an area where it will not produce surface runoff into the municipal water system.

• Do not put used fireworks that have not been soaked into a paper or plastic bag, as this could lead to a fire starting within the bag.

• Return to your fireworks discharge area the next morning to clean up any remaining firework debris – things can be easily overlooked in the dark.