The Goat Rocks Fire in East Lewis County grew to an estimated 850 acres by late Friday afternoon, according to a news release from Lewis County.
The Forest Service still had the fire listed at 150 acres prior to the update from the county.
Fire officials said dozer lines have been carved around the rural communities.
“We’re comfortable with operations on the ground,” Matt Mahe, of the Goat Rocks Wildfire Incident Command, stated in the release.
Evacuations of residents in the Timberline, Goat Rocks and High Valley areas of East Lewis County are underway by order of the U.S. Forest Service. Level three or “go now” evacuations began Friday afternoon.
The town of Packwood, southwest of the fire, is under a level two evacuation order, which suggests residents “get set” and prepare to evacuate.
Due to the fire threat and heavy smoke in the area, “Highway 12 is closed in both east and west bound directions from Skate Creek to White Pass itself,” said Lewis County Emergency Management Deputy Director Ross McDowell.
“An evacuation shelter has been set up at White Pass School,“ said Erika Katt, planner for Lewis County Emergency Management. “If you need to evacuate horses you are able to go to the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds where the horse barns are open.”
Fire advisories and the latest information on evacuations are available through Lewis County Alert: www.lewiscountywa.gov/departments/emergency-management/lewis-county-alert/.
