The McEwan brush fire burning north of Shelton is now 25 percent contained and continues to burn within its current footprint as crews work to re-enforce and secure the control lines, fire officials said in a Saturday update.
The McEwan Fire started Tuesday afternoon, July 4, and has burned 244 acres of industrial timberland and private land. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to the Western Washington Type 3 Incident Management Team that is coordinating the fire-fighting efforts.
A masticator — a large piece of equipment that grinds up fuels — worked all day Friday clearing brush from along the fire control lines. There were 179 people working on the fire containment effort, according to the Incident Management Team.
Crews are continuing to strengthen and re-enforce the control lines around the fire perimeter which is helping improve containment of the fire, the Saturday news release said. A control line is a line between the fire and unburned fuels. Firefighters patrol these lines using them to stop the fire from further spread. A containment line is a strong boundary line — wide, clear, cold lines with no smoke or burning materials — that will hold the fire without continual management by firefighters.
There were no changes to evacuations Saturday. The Rainbow Lake Neighborhood, Little Bear Lane, all of McEwan Drive, John's Prairie Road from Batstone Cut-Off to Highway 3, and the Hiawatha Neighborhood continued to be a Level 2, meaning people could be at home, but needed to be ready to leave on a moment's notice. Evergreen Drive and Oak Park were at Level 1.
McEwan Prairie Road remains closed to through traffic. Crews are using the road to work along the highway and as an access and staging point. Some apparatus is parked along the roadway, partially blocking the traffic lanes.
The weather is beginning to work in the firefighters' favor. The forecast called for mostly cloudy skies with highs around 77 degrees. However, southwest winds of 5-9 mph in the morning were expected to increase to 7-12 mph in the afternoon.
The Bluegrass in the Forest outdoor festival was scheduled to go on as planned this weekend at the Mason County Recreation Area Soccer Park off John's Prairie Road.
