PORT TOWNSEND — A fire in the woods near Rosecrans and 35th streets was quickly brought under control by East Jefferson Fire-Rescue firefighters Sunday afternoon.
The fire at Cappy’s Trail was reported by a teenager walking through the area at about 1 p.m.
It grew to a 50-foot by 50-foot area before a crew of 15 firefighters were able to get it under control, said Keppie Keplinger, spokeswoman for East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.
The fire burned underground in dry root systems, erupting in flame wherever the roots came to the surface, Keplinger said.
It is expected to smolder for a day or two underground, and will be monitored by firefighters until they are certain it is out, Keplinger said.
The fire is believed to have started by a campfire at a homeless encampment in the clearing, Deputy Fire Chief Ted Krysinski said.
Investigators didn’t immediately know when the fire began — it might have been smoldering for days, Keplinger said.
“It takes a long time for a fire to get into the roots,” she said.
The path from Rosecrans to the clearing took several twists and turns, with the path marked by such items as a car door and a tea kettle hanging in the branches.
The first firefighters on the scene added yellow tape as trail markers, then started to work with a hand sprayer and shovels to bury the fire.
Other firefighters snaked a series of hoses 800 feet through the woods to the clearing, and dug deep holes where the smoke originated.
The holes were filled with water, creating “mud pits” in which debris was dumped.
Stein Pratt, 15, was walking through the woods on Sunday when he smelled smoke.
Pratt called his mother, who informed police of the fire.
Pratt led Port Townsend Police Officer Nate Holmes to the small transient camp in a clearing in the woods.
Smoke was coming out of several places in the clearing near an abandoned plywood wooden lean-to.
Holmes notified East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.
“The fact that he called it in saved us,” Holmes said of Pratt. “It could have been a lot worse.”
Krysinski had not yet determined ownership of the property later Sunday.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
