Lacey fire crew helps put out blaze on nation’s second-tallest railroad arch bridge
Four firefighters with Lacey Fire District 3 were part of a multi-agency response to a fire that broke out Thursday on the Vance Creek Bridge in Mason County. According to the agency, the bridge is the second-highest railroad arch bridge in the country.
Chris Patti, deputy chief of operations, said the four Lacey firefighters were part of the countywide Special Operations Rescue Team alongside crews from Southeast Thurston and McLane Black Lake fire departments that responded to the blaze July 31.
He said LFD3 was requested to help with the fire at around 3:15 p.m., but the state Department of Natural Resources had been fighting the fire since early that morning.
Patti said it’s unclear how the fire started on the bridge. Standing at 347 feet tall, it’s been closed for decades, but has been damaged by vandalism and fires in the past. The current owners have removed railroad ties and platforms to discourage people from walking onto the bridge.
“Upon arrival SORT techs set up a horizontal rope safety system that would allow them to safely make access out onto the bridge deck, hoisted up some equipment and proceeded to work out onto the railroad deck extending their safety lines and working to extinguish all of the burning railroad ties,” Patti said. “Many of the ties were severely compromised creating a more dangerous situation. Crews estimated they extended approximately 260 feet out onto the railroad deck to reach the end of the burning ties.”
Falling embers from the bridge fire managed to ignite another fire in the canyon below, Patti said. The bridge fire was fully contained by 9 p.m., and Patti said crews may still be working to fully extinguish the embers in the canyon below.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 10:37 AM.
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