Homes, Business Burned in 485-Acre Grand Mound Blaze

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By Wednesday morning, firefighters reported confidently that they had Grand Mound’s Scatter Creek Fire mostly under control, with 100 percent of the blaze contained by fire lines.

The previous evening was a different story in which numerous agencies worked to corral the fire as winds pushed it to what Thurston County estimated late Tuesday night as 440 acres.

“We can’t read fire very well when Mother Nature decides she’s going to take hold of it and be the boss,” said Capt. Lanette Dyer, of the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

Fire crews no sooner set up in the path of the growing brush fire Tuesday afternoon in an effort to fight it strategically than the quickly shifting wind would set it blazing in another direction.

The fire reached a stand of timber along Interstate 5 and jumped all six lanes with a gust of wind, she said.

About 24 hours after the fire started, officials still only had limited information about the total acreage burned and buildings lost.

Leadership from area fire districts and the Department of Natural Resources and met Wednesday morning at Rochester High School — repurposed for the time being as an incident command center and meeting-place for displaced residents — to discuss their next steps.

The state’s Northwest Incident Management Team began taking over command and coordination of forces Wednesday morning.

“We’re going to put some boots on the ground and they’re going to be walking the perimeter,” Dyer told The Chronicle.

Firefighters assigned that task will monitor the fire lines and look for still-smoldering hot spots. Another group was assigned to assess all of the structures in the area to get a firm number of structures damaged or lost.

Crews will also use GPS to determine the total acreage burned.

“Today, our goal is, we will work on the objective of identifying exactly what those structures are,” Dyer said.

Dyer noted that 100 percent containment doesn’t mean the fire is totally out, only that it is contained in a fire line.

 

The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.

The fire was first reported at 1:33 p.m. Tuesday in the area of the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area in Grand Mound near 183rd Avenue between Guava Street and Case Road, according to a news release from Thurston County.

Local fire districts were dispatched through mutual aid agreements to the intersection of 183rd Avenue and Wakely Lane in Grand mound about an hour later.

Firefighters from agencies in Thurston, Pierce, Mason, Grays Harbor and Lewis county fought the fire, along with crews from DNR and personnel from the state Department of Corrections, Puget Sound Energy, Thurston County Public Works and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

By 4 p.m., the state Department of Natural Resources was reporting the fire had grown to more than 30 acres and was burning an area near homes. Three helicopters and seven fire engines were on the scene and an air tanker was on the way.

As the evening wore on, the fire continued to grow quickly, swelling to more than 300 acres.

Tuesday evening, the state Fire Marshal’s Office reported the fire had grown to 350 acres, was threatening homes, crops and commercial structures and was growing.

The State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray was activated to Level 2 to coordinate assistance for the fire.

A press release from Thurston County reported Wednesday morning that more than 150 acres were burned and seven buildings lost, including four homes, two barns and a business.

Another Thurston County press release from the previous night reported the fire had burned approximately 440 acres.

Residents were evacuated along 183rd Avenue Southwest, Case Road Southwest and on either side of Interstate 5 in the area.

At that time, Puget Sound Energy reported 1,005 people were without power.

As of Wednesday morning, power was restored to nearly all of the more than 1,000 residents who lost it the previous evening.

The Level 3 evacuation was still in place Wednesday, but people were allowed to return to their properties if they could provide proof of residence.

11 a.m. Update:

Capt. Lanette Dyer of the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority tells The Chronicle the Scatter Creek Fire, which burned 400 acres and several structures, is 100 percent contained.

That means fire crews have circled the fire's perimeter with fire lines, but some hot spots are still burning. Crews are being tasked today with tackling remaining hot spots, getting an accurate GPS measurement of the fire's size and counting the number of structures damaged.

The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation.

The level 3 evacuation is still in place, but residents who can provide proof of residence are being allowed through roadblocks. 

More to come. 

More to come. 

10:40 a.m. Update: 



The Chronicle will have an update on the latest from the Scatter Creek Fire shortly. A reporter is currently at the scene getting a briefing from officials. Here are more photos from yesterday's fire by Chronicle freelancer Jared Wenzelburger. 

11 p.m. Update:

10:05 p.m. Update:

Per Thurston County Press Release

RESIDENTS WHO CAN VERIFY RESIDENCY ALLOWED BACK TO THEIR PROPERTY

The level 3 evacuation remains in place

​OLYMPIA – Residents in the Scatter Creek Fire evacuation area can now return to their property if they can verify residency.

The level three evacuation still stands and anyone who cannot verify residency will not be allowed into the evacuation area.

Current Status:

The fires lines are currently holding while the Department of Natural Resources and local agency fire crews are responding with ground crews and air drops. The approximate area burned is 440 acres.

Puget Sound Energy is reporting 1005 people without power. For updates on power outages, visit: https://pse.com/accountsandservices/ServiceAlert/Pages/outage-map.aspx

The reunification site and shelter remains open at the Rochester LDS Church located at 18501 Paulson Street Southwest, Rochester.

Thurston County Public Works has shut down a number of roads in the area. For the most up to date road closures visit: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/publicworks/2015/RoadStatusMap.aspx

The Rochester Soup Kitchen at 18214 Corvallis Street Southwest is open for displaced residents until 10:00 p.m. tonight and from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

10:00 p.m. Update:

DNR responded to our tweet asking if there was an estimation for containment on the fire in Grand Mound. They responded:

9:45 p.m. Update:

7:45 p.m. Update:

6:50 p.m. Update: 

Thurston County Emergency Management has retracted an earlier report on Facebook that evacuations have been lifted. "Evacuation notices are back in place for Rochester WA. If you were given instruction to evacuate, please do not return to your home yet. Sorry for the earlier post stating evacuation was lifted," Thurston County Emergency Management posted at about 6:50 p.m.

6:30 p.m. Update: 

From the State Fire Marshal: "State fire assistance has been mobilized under the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan in support of local firefighters working to contain the Scatter Creek Fire located near Grand Mound in Thurston County. The fire is burning in grass, brush and timber.

Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized the mobilization of state firefighting resources at 4:30 p.m. at the request of Fire Chief Robert Scott, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

The fire started at approximately 1:33 p.m., and the cause is under investigation. The Scatter Creek Fire is estimated at 350 acres and growing. The fire is threatening homes, crops and commercial structures in the area. Level 3 evacuations are currently in effect for approximately 100 homes.

Mobilization specialists from the Fire Protection Bureau have ordered two wildland strike teams. The fire will be managed by a Type 3 Incident Management Team.

The State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Camp Murray is activated to a Level 2 to coordinate state assistance for the Scatter Creek Fire. State Fire Marshal's Office personnel are en route the scene to coordinate dispatch of resources.

Under the State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan, the Fire Protection Bureau coordinates the initial dispatch and continued administrative oversight of resources and personnel for the duration of the incident. The Mobilization Plan is implemented to provide a process to quickly notify, assemble and deploy fire service personnel, equipment and other resources from around the state when fires, disasters or other events exceed the capacity of local jurisdictions."

6:20 p.m Update: "Reunification site has moved to the LDS church off of Paulson DR SW (just south of Hwy 12). Shelter will be provided.." -- Thurston County Sheriff's Office

Previous:

Fire crews from multiple counties are in Grand Mound battling a fast-moving brush fire in the areas of Case Road, 183rd Avenue SW and Elderberry Street.

Evacuations are being organized by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. There are several reports of damaged homes and at least one business.

The Chronicle has reporters at the scene. We'll post additional updates as they become available.