PORT ANGELES — Several fires were reported during concerns about fire danger — and the risk is still there, according to Port Angeles-area fire officials.
“Grass, brush and forest are very dry now. There is a burn ban on,” said Mike DeRousie, Clallam County Fire District No. 2 assistant fire chief.
“It’s still very dangerous” throughout the North Olympic Peninsula, said DeRousie, whose district covers 85 square miles surrounding the city of Port Angeles.
“There are forest fires all over the West, and we haven’t had rain in awhile,” he added.
Currently, there are 17 major forest fires burning in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning, which indicates extreme fire danger due to lack of rain, for areas of the North Olympic Peninsula earlier this month.
DeRousie said Fire District No. 2 responded to a number of small fires last week, most of which were put out by homeowners before the fire department could arrive.
On Sunday, firefighters extinguished a fire in a log jam in the middle of the Elwha River, near the end of Harry Rex Way.
Fire investigators suspect it was sparked by fireworks.
The blaze, reported just after 7 that night, was fought by Clallam County Fire District No. 2, the Department of Natural Resources and the Elwha Police Department.
“The wind was picking up, and we were concerned about burning embers starting other fires across the river,” DeRousie said in the fire report.
21,000 gallons of water
The fire was extinguished using 21,000 gallons of water, and a DNR fire watch remained on site overnight, he said.
Damage was limited to an area of about 200 feet by 100 feet, including logs, brush and the sides of trees around the log jam.
A series of small fires in the Port Angeles area began with a grass fire Aug. 11 that burned a field adjacent to Monroe Elementary, 106 Monroe Road, DeRousie said.
That fire was caused by a model rocket that landed in a field, spilling fuel and igniting the dry grass, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
