A wildfire thought to be caused by lightning in the Goat Rocks Wilderness in early August grew tremendously on Friday as a red flag warning — a weather advisory signaling dry, windy conditions that create high fire risk — was issued and over 500 residents were told to evacuate.
The evacuation order was then held and U.S. Highway 12 between Skate Creek Road and White Pass was shut down until 7 p.m. Sunday as the red flag warning lifted.
Ultimately, there were no injuries or damaged structures from the blaze.
In the early afternoon Friday, The Chronicle received word the fire had grown to 80 acres. Just a few hours later, the acreage came in at 850 and the blaze was reported to be within two miles of Packwood. As of Sunday morning, the most recent update had the fire at 2,842 acres. On Monday, it was still 0% contained and various Forest Service roads remained closed.
An update on acreage was not released on Monday morning, but rain overnight in East Lewis County along with higher humidity brought some relief for those on the frontlines and cooler weather predicted for the rest of the week is likely to keep the blaze under control.
At 10:40 a.m. Friday, a “be ready” level one evacuation notice was issued throughout Packwood and outlying neighborhoods near the fire. Just two hours later, the notice was updated to a level three, “go” order for the Timberline, Goat Rocks and High Valley communities.
“At that point the way the winds were going and the way the red flag was on, the incident commander (Rocky Ahshapanek) made the determination to request an evacuation of certain areas that were in imminent fear of the track of the fire. We work with them on figuring out which areas they consider ‘imminent fear,’” said Ross McDowell, deputy director of Lewis County Division of Emergency Management (DEM).
He added that typically, evacuation orders go up in severity by levels, rather than skipping from level one to level three as they did in this instance, but on Friday, “there just wasn’t time.”
Ahshapanek consulted with multiple agencies before making the recommendation, McDowell said, including Packwood Fire Chief Lonnie Goble, the U.S. Forest Service and various eyes on the ground.
Besides major wind conditions threatening to push the fire toward the Timberline community, the amount of smoke caused by the fire was part of what went into the evacuation decision. With such low visibility and large plumes of smoke preventing air support, teams did not have a full grasp on where the fire was, let alone where it might be headed.
By Friday afternoon, a shelter at White Pass School in Randle had been set up by Lewis County Public Health & Social Services (LCPHSS). Interim Director Meja Handlen was running the show with support from the Salvation Army Centralia serving meals and providing cots and staff through the American Red Cross. That night, the shelter housed 59 individuals. The number dwindled throughout the weekend, with 18 still staying there by Sunday.
Debbie Broom, who lives in the lower Timberline area north of U.S. Highway 12 with her husband of 51 years, Jeff Broom, said she received the evacuation message followed by a knock on the door an hour later.
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” Debbie Broom said. “We grabbed clothes, toiletries, meds, each other and that’s about it.”
That night, she and her husband slept in their vehicles and had dinner at the shelter. The next two nights, they were able to rent a room and continued having meals at White Pass School. Through the experience, one positive Debbie Broom mentioned was the chance to meet more of her neighbors.
By Saturday morning, the various agencies had set up regular briefings on the developing situation. Around 7:30 a.m., McDowell looked at his computer screen and stifled a few profanities. The wind had pushed the fire north toward the highway overnight, with the new acreage update on Saturday coming in at 1,500.
With the red flag warning still in place, Packwood spent the day stewing in thick, dry smoke as ash from the fire trickled down into the Big Bottom Valley. With winds blowing in gusts of up to 33 miles per hour from the east to west, the smoke laid thicker in the valley than it did just a few miles west of the fire.
Throughout Lewis County, the sky was an orange haze blocking out the warm sunshine originally in the forecast.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office doubled up on patrols to keep unwelcome visitors from taking advantage of the empty homes, according to Sheriff Rob Snaza. With others from the office, he drove reporters with The Chronicle through the closed highway on Saturday afternoon as he and his associates surveyed the scene and assisted where possible, such as snagging prescription medications left behind during evacuation.
“This isn’t something that happens every day. This is only my second wildfire since becoming sheriff and my first with forced evacuations,” Snaza said. “In the midst of all this adversity, to see all these people coming together, that's what's really cool.”
Firefighters on Saturday came from far and wide: many Lewis County fire districts, North Kitsap County, Cowlitz County, Montesano and West Thurston Fire were just some of the local agencies from across the state that joined Washington Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Forest Service firefighters.
As some fought the blaze on the frontlines, other workers spent the day improving defensible space between houses in Timberline and trees that, if burning, would threaten structures. At the time, the fire was about a mile and a half out from that community.
Propane tanks, wood stacks and other pieces of potential fuel were moved as far from houses as firefighters could toss them. Bulldozers were used to create significant lines between forests and neighborhoods. Near the structures thought to be most at-risk, hoses and sprinklers were run.
Where the fire burned the hottest, inhospitable landscape prevented firefighters from simply walking in and dousing the flames. When it first ignited in early August, crews with the Forest Service repelled into the area with helicopters in order to reach the blaze.
By Sunday morning, the air was cooler and the smoke seemed less thick in West Lewis County. In Packwood, though, the air quality had entered hazardous levels, according to airquality.gov. By the evening, with Washington State Department of Transportation itching to open the highway and residents praying to stop sleeping on cots inside a school, the weather had finally improved enough that Ahshapanek recommended softening evacuation orders and opening the road. The announcement was first made to folks at the shelter an hour before it was released to the public and was met with an auditorium full of cheers.
“You guys are survivors. You survived a fire evacuation,” McDowell said.
By Monday morning, White Pass School was back in session.
When residents began returning home Sunday night, pieces of firefighting equipment were there waiting for them.
“Don’t move them. Some of you may also have some new landscaping. Be prepared,” said Erika Katt, DEM planner, to the folks at the shelter Sunday night.
This prompted solemn looks between couples and families. Though nobody was up in arms about efforts done by the firefighters with the goal of saving property, it was clear some of these people’s homes would be significantly changed. Trees have been toppled that perhaps their children climbed on or their favorite bird nested inside.
“These are special things and they may feel people came in and started ripping it apart. This would be a great opportunity for some volunteer groups to put in some time stacking wood and helping out,” McDowell said.
Despite news of the potential damage to the image of Packwood’s various idyllic cabins in the woods, Sunday night’s announcement reverberated through the school with joy.
Asked how she felt to be allowed to go home, Debbie Broom said: “Elated. All these men and women worked so hard. I’m so thankful.”
While the Goat Rocks Fire continues to burn in the ridges beyond U.S Highway 12, the weekend in East Lewis County saw volunteers, agencies and service providers going above and beyond to assist in the community effort.
At the shelter, various local businesses made donations, such as donuts from Fuller’s Shop n’ Kart and free bowling passes from Milltown Smokehouse in Morton. Pallets of water bottles were rolled in all weekend as Handlen reported high spirits thanks to many guests with friendly pets that acted as emotional support.
The Red Cross also brought in medical and mental health counselors, which Handlen said were invaluable. LCPHSS also worked with local pharmacies to get medications to residents that were easily replaceable.
The list of the helpers goes on.
“It’s why I live here,” Handlen said with tears in her eyes. “It’s literally beautiful.”
Cooler weather is forecast for the rest of the week. The Chronicle will continue posting updates on chronline.com, including updated acreage, wind reports and evacuation notices whenever necessary. This story was written early Monday afternoon.
For updated information from the Forest Service, including road closures, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8415/.
