Firefighters knock down hillside blaze by Martin Way on Sunday to protect homes
Firefighters knocked down a quarter-mile-long brush fire that threatened homes near Martin Way East and Meridian Road on Sunday.
Lacey Fire District 3 responded to multiple calls from worried homeowners at about 11:25 a.m., said Jennifer Schmidt, deputy chief of operations. When firefighters arrived, they found a brush fire burning up a hillside and trees between Martin Way and Amanda Drive.
“Initially, it was very much a concerning emergency,” Schmidt said. “But once we were able to knock down that hillside, we were pretty quick to get it under control.”
Schmidt said 20 Lacey firefighters and six from other districts knocked down the 2-acre blaze by about 2 p.m. with the help of three units from the Department of Natural Resources. A few homeowners also defended their property with hoses and sprinklers, she said.
“We ended up having no property that was damaged by the fires,” Schmidt said. “We were able to put a break between the brush fire and the homes.”
DNR units stayed in the area past 2 p.m. to put out hotspots after the Lacey crews left, she said. Martin Way remained closed for about 2 hours, she added.
Firefighters from the South Bay, East Olympia and Olympia fire departments helped Lacey crews with the brush fire and other calls they could not get to, Schmidt said.
“This event particularly taxed our workforce,” Schmidt said. “We had a motor vehicle collision and several other aid calls that were going off, so we had mutual aid from all surrounding departments not only handling this scene but then also handling our normal responses.”
The cause of the fire has not been determined, Schmidt said, but the origin was right off Martin Way. Interestingly, there was a portion in the middle of the quarter-mile span that was not initially part of the fire, she said.
“So, we believe that it was probably either sparks from a vehicle or whatever was traveling there on Martin Way, which is what we see on the I-5 quite often too,” she said. “You know, a vehicle with a chain hanging or something like that creating sparks and catching that right grass on fire.”
Schmidt advised homeowners to clear debris and brush near their homes year-round to make it easier for firefighters to defend their property.
“When we have a lot of combustibles that are near their homes, it makes our job much harder,” Schmidt said. “Having clear space and access makes all the difference in us being able to put a stop between wildlands and residential areas.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 11:28 AM.
