Brush fires rise as Thurston County temperatures soar

Debris and garbage in The Jungle encampment created a fire early Thursday, one of many small fires in Thurston County as temperatures remain high.

Olympia Fire Department Assistant Chief Kevin Bossard said it is unknown how the encampment fire started, but that the combination of rising temperatures and flammable materials may have created the perfect conditions for a brush fire. Bossard also said many objects used in encampments are not typical materials used to make houses or buildings, and this can contribute to more fires in those places.

“A lot of times, alternative materials will be used to build these,” Bossard said. “These folks are doing the best they can. But if you were to go down to the city and say, ‘I want to build a house,’ there are very clear parameters and code requirements around what you can use and how you can build it. When we go out there, things like tarps — they burn really quickly.”

Bossard said this can create fast-moving fires that are difficult to put out, especially if they are in heavily forested areas off of roads that do not have a fire hydrant nearby.

“Eight hundred feet in and with no clear road, we have to stretch all that hose and get enough people to pull it all,” Bossard said. “It’s really hard to establish a quick attack, unlike if you had a house on the side of the street with a hydrant next to it.”

A burn ban for Thurston County has been in place since Friday, July 15. The beginning of the summer was notably wetter and cooler, which originally reduced the threat of brush fires. However, since the heat began, Bossard said human behavior and heat can play roles in fire-starting.

“It’s amazing because due to that really wet June, we haven’t had an extensive wildland fire season,” he said. “I can’t speak for Oregon or California, but for us we haven’t. But locally, it doesn’t take long for dry conditions.”