06/19/2009: "Fire Danger Is High: New Brush Fire On Orcas"

(Lt. Jeff Jones is standing at the fire ring, which shows unburned area around it)

A homeowner on Deer Point on Orcas had carefully extinguished a small permitted fire on Monday. No heat or even steam was rising up from the site by noon and it was checked throughout the afternoon. Confident the fire was completely out, the owner made a trip into town.

While he was gone, that fire came back to life. Aaron Patten was returning by boat from Blakely Island and noticed a lot of smoke on Deer Point. He quickly docked and found the source.

The hillside was on fire just below a home. Patten got help from Seth Ybarra, who was working nearby and they both fought the fire with the homeowner's hose and tools. Seth is a new firefighter and had just completed the district's annual wildfire safety training. He called the emergency in on his district 2-way radio and additional firefighters were en-route even before an exact address could be broadcast.

The fire spread 100 feet up the hillside to the base of the home, contacting it in 3 different places. Thanks to a concrete foundation and good wildland clean up, the fire did not ignite the siding. It moved under the deck area where the yard tools had been set, well away from the burn site.

There it burned around 2 gasoline containers, a small brush burner and a weed eater. Amazingly, these did not catch fire although one gas container had begun to melt.

Thankfully, a concerned citizen followed up and a firefighter with communications was near by or it could have been an entirely different outcome.

Brush Engine 21, Doe Bay Engine 25 and Eastsound Engine 21 responded. However, Seth and Aaron had the fire under control and only the brush engine was needed for "mop up" of the remaining hot spots.

Deputy Fire Marshal Paul Turner investigated the site and determined the permit holder had done everything right. "He'd watered it down and checked it twice before leaving. There was an unburned ring completely around the fire, which shows he had properly watered the area. Which leads me to believe it may have gone underground. That's all we can figure out."

The unusually dry weather has increased fire danger HIGH, which is very unusual for San Juan County in June. At this point the small amount of rain predicted will do little to mitigate the problem. Because of this danger outdoor burning has been closed early. Small, attended campfire of 2 feet or less are still allowed at this time.