Aid from around Washington will soon head toward the Goat Rocks Wilderness fire near Packwood as the fire’s estimated size now sits at 1,800 acres, the state Department of Emergency Management announced Friday night.
The state approved activation of the State Fire Mobilization Resource, which puts out a call to any fire agencies in the state with resources to spare. The resource provides personnel, equipment and other logistical resources when a wildland fire or other emergency exceeds the firefighting capacity of local jurisdictions, according to a statement on the Washington State Patrol’s website.
Previous reports estimated the fire at 850 acres in size. The U.S. Forest Service reported the fire was just 80 to 90 acres on Wednesday.
Level three evacuations for the Timberline, High Valley and Goat Rocks communities east of Packwood, as well as level two evacuations for the town of Packwood itself, remained active Friday night.
The evacuations affect about 1,200 residents total, according to the state Department of Emergency Management.
Of those, roughly 15 planned to stay overnight at White Pass Jr./Sr. High School, where volunteers with Lewis County and the American Red Cross set up an evacuation shelter.
An additional 18 planned to camp out in their cars parked at the property.
“The school district: fantastic,” Meja Handlen, deputy social services and operations director for Lewis County, told a Chronicle reporter on Friday. “They said ‘use the facility as needed,’ so that’s been really fantastic.”
Many of the Packwood area residents staying the night at White Pass School are neighbors, and huddled up in a loose circle to share food and conversation Friday night.
One evacuee, who has resided in the area for 55 years, told a Chronicle reporter she had left her residence near Timberline at 1:20 p.m. that afternoon to find ash already covering her car.
They talked of their anxieties and their sorrow over the fire potentially damaging their homes, but mostly they expressed gratitude that they and their loved ones were safe.
When Lewis County Emergency Management issued the evacuation orders Friday afternoon, Lewis County Health & Social Services had personnel out to the school within two hours, said Handlen. The American Red Cross had personnel and volunteers out within four.
The Lewis County Animal Shelter has provided food and kennels for any of the evacuees’ pets and the Salvation Army stepped up to feed the people staying at the school.
Around 8 p.m. on Friday, Salvation Army captains Steven and Gin Pack arrived at the school with 82 hot meals, 500 bottles of water and 170 hygiene packs.
The Salvation Army planned to bring additional supplies on Saturday.
