Olympia Fire Department responds to 3 suspicious fires Thursday afternoon
Olympia fire crews responded to three suspicious fires in west Olympia Thursday afternoon, a battalion chief said.
Chief J.D. Young said crews were dispatched to a corner of Capital Mall near Cooper Point Road, the 1200 block of Black Lake Boulevard and an area near Westside Lanes off Harrison Avenue.
Young described the three fires as suspicious. However, he also said there’s a chance that the fires near Cooper Point Road and Black Lake Boulevard were triggered by cigarettes tossed out of vehicles because of their proximity to passing traffic.
He said the fire near Westside Lanes was the most suspicious because it’s not easily accessible. That fire burned brush. The other fires burned landscaped areas, he said.
Although suspicious, Young said fire crews didn’t find “evidence that we could link to anybody.”
Olympia fire crews also responded to a bark fire in the 800 block of Legion Way Southeast about 5 p.m. Thursday. Young said that type of fire is much more indicative of someone tossing their cigarette butt to the ground.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 6:03 PM.
