Downed trees and power lines start fires in Tumwater, Rochester on Monday
Windy weather knocked down trees and power lines across Thurston County on Monday, starting wildfires amid a wave of hot, dry air drifting in from fires across multiple western states.
Near Rochester, 1.6 acres burned after power lines fell onto a roadway at the intersection of James Road and Independence Road. The wind blew the fire into an open field nearby. It took about two hours to put out, according to West Thurston Fire Operations Chief Robert Scott.
In Tumwater on Monday, downed power lines caused a small brush fire at 93rd Avenue and Blomberg street that took about two hours and a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) helicopter to put out, according to Tumwater spokesperson Ann Cook.
In southeast Olympia, three trees were blown down between Cain Road and Boulevard Road on Monday afternoon, though no damage was found, according to Mike Buchanan, Assistant Chief of the Olympia Fire Department.
On Tuesday morning, a tree fell onto power lines in Tumwater, causing a power outage affecting 2,677 households, according to Puget Sound Energy. By 10 A.M., power was restored to about 1,000 houses, but by early afternoon some areas were still without power.
PSE was responding to over 300 outages across the state, mostly due to high winds blowing over power lines, according to spokesperson Janet Kim.
Across Washington state, there were 58 wildfires that sparked on Monday, according to a DNR news release.
Wildfires were reported in Chelan, Lincoln, Whitman, and Okanogan counties, among others, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, a division of the State Patrol.
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for much of Washington state, which means an increased risk of fires due to warm temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds.
At least three separate wildfires sparked in nearby parts of Pierce County on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
In Graham, at least eight homes were destroyed and 100 people were evacuated on Monday night by a wildfire still active on Tuesday that had burned over 100 acres.
Multiple stretches of State Road 410 were closed by two separate wildfires that sparked Tuesday morning near Enumclaw and Sumner. State Patrol is asking that drivers avoid the area if possible.
The wildfires also have worsened air quality in many areas. The Department of Ecology monitors the air quality index hourly from a facility in Lacey, which spiked Monday night to unhealthy levels. By 8 a.m. Tuesday, the air quality appeared to have returned to healthy levels in Thurston County.
Measurements from a facility in Chehalis remained at unhealthy levels for sensitive groups as of Tuesday morning.
Almost 300,000 acres burned on Monday, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 10:22 AM.
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