Brush fires cause backup on northbound I-5 traffic near Mounts Road Saturday
Brush fires caused major backups on northbound Interstate 5 near Nisqually Saturday afternoon, with congestion stretching to Lacey as of about 3 p.m., according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Lacey Fire District 3 responded to a small brush fire near Mounts Road just before 1:30 p.m., Battalion Chief Tim Hulse told The Olympian. Crews had it knocked down before 2 p.m. and left by 2:30 p.m., he said.
But the situation in Pierce County was ongoing. About 2:20 p.m., Washington State Department of Transportation Tacoma tweeted that the off-ramp to Mounts Road and two right lanes were blocked. Two separate brush fires had traffic backed up past State Route 510 in Lacey by 3 p.m., according to WSDOT.
“Give yourself plenty of time this afternoon,” the tweet reads.
About 3:30 p.m., Washington State Trooper Ryan Burke told The Olympian the fire was under control but that crews expected four hours to pass before it would be completely extinguished and safe. At that point, JBLM Fire Department was on the scene, Burke said. DuPont Fire Department had also responded.
The ramp to Mounts Road was still closed as of 3:30 p.m., and Burke expected it would continue to be closed intermittently, because crews were using water from a nearby golf course.
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