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McEwan fire in Shelton now 70% contained, cause still under investigation

The McEwan Fire near Shelton has been burning for nearly a week now, taking 244 acres of industrial timberland and private property with it. But officials said Monday morning that the fire was 70% contained.

The cause of the fire, which began on the Fourth of July, is still under investigation, and the Western Washington Type 3 Incident Management team will be handing the case over to a state Department of Natural Resources team this week, according to Monday update from the management team.

Evacuation levels were reduced at 9 a.m. Monday, according to a news release from Central Mason Fire & EMS. All areas that have been under evacuation orders are now at Level 1: Evergreen Drive, Oak Park, Rainbow Lake Neighborhood, Little Bear Lane, McEwan Drive, John’s Prairie Road from Batstone Cutoff to Highway 3 and the Hiawatha Neighborhood.

Level 1 means people should be ready to evacuate if necessary.

McEwan Prairie Road opened at 9 a.m. Monday as well.

The number of people working to contain the fire was at 178 on Monday.

This story was originally published July 10, 2023 at 7:52 AM.

Ty Vinson
The Olympian
Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription
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