[1]A helicopter drops water off Katula Road outside Pe Ell yesterday. / Courtesy photo by DNR
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Firefighters are working to extinguish a wildfire that broke out on a timber company’s land near Pe Ell, with roughly 80 people on the ground today.
A Doty firefighter who happened to be up on a hill spotted it and contacted the state Department of Natural Resources about 9 o’clock yesterday morning.
It was initially estimated at 40 acres but is more like 25 acres, and it’s mostly debris leftover from previous logging that is burning, according to Nick Cronquist, a DNR spokesperson..
It went a little bit into the timber, burning the salal and other vegetation on the ground, Cronquist said.
The area is roughly halfway between Pe Ell and Doty.
Cronquist said this morning the fire is 70 percent contained.
“The helicopters were working pretty hard last night, but we don’t think we’ll use them again,” he said. They have them on standby, he said.
The property belongs to Green Diamond Resource Co. and is off Katula Road.
Local firefighters have been supporting the efforts, hauling water with tenders, according to Lewis County Fire District 16 Chief Greg Feuchter.
Cronquist said they had 50 personnel working the fire yesterday and expected they will be out there for the next couple of days.
It started sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning, he said, and its cause is under investigation.
It’s among the first sizable wildfires in Western Washington this season, following an early in the weekend fire in Clark County, according to Cronquist.
[2]The state Department of Natural Resources expects personnel to be working for the next couple of days to extinguish the fire. / Courtesy photo by DNR