Puyallup police lift evacuation order after day-long battle with fire at cold-storage site
Puyallup police told residents near a large fire to evacuate immediately Saturday morning due to concerns of an explosion.
The agency posted to social media about 6:30 a.m. that anyone within 1.1 miles of 15th Street Southeast and East Main needed to leave immediately, and soon gave an update that anyone within 1.1 miles of 15th and East Pioneer needed to leave due to potentially toxic smoke.
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“There is concern of toxic chemicals and explosions from the fire scene,” the agency posted. “Evacuate now.”
A social media post from Central Pierce Fire and Rescue indicated that the fire is based at Washington Cold Storage.
The building has 1,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia that’s used for refrigeration, Central Pierce Fire & Rescue said in a statement.
A passerby saw flames and called 911 at 5:22 a.m.
“Currently, we are at a third alarm with assistance from multiple Pierce County fire agencies,” the statement said about 8:30 a.m.
A reverse 911 call would be going out to homes and businesses in that radius, telling those affected to evacuate, police said. Puyallup School District officials also canceled all activities for the day and police canceled Saturday’s scheduled farmer’s market in downtown Puyallup.
Anyone who needs non-emergency assistance can call 253-864-4170.
“All available Puyallup Police Officers have been recalled to duty and are going through the neighborhoods to assist with the evacuation notice,” the agency posted about 8:20 a.m. “If you see or hear an officer announcing the evacuation we encourage you to evacuate.”
At noon, police said the fire would be active “for the next several hours,” while maintaining the evacuation order.
Part of the firefighting strategy involved a seemingly counterintuitive approach: letting portions of the site continue to burn, to disperse the toxic material, according to a social media statement from Central Pierce leaders.
“It is safer to let the materials burn hot and disperse at high altitude than to blanket the community in cold smoke,” the statement read.
No injuries tied to the fire had been reported as of early evening. Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup did not receive any emergency room admissions tied to the incident, a spokeswoman said.
At 4:40 p.m., the Puyallup police Twitter account asked for public patience, saying the evacuation order would likely remain active for “a few hours.”
At 6:37 p.m., police announced that the evacuation order had been lifted, allowing residents to return to their homes. Police replaced the evacuation directive with a shelter-in-place order, providing instructions from the state Department of Health.
Those guidelines suggest closing all windows and doors and turning off ventilation systems such as air conditioners to limit exposure to lingering toxic chemicals. Police and fire agencies also warned that lingering smoke would continue to drift from the site through the weekend and possibly Monday.
The Puyallup Nazarene Church on Seventh Avenue Southwest was set up as an evacuation location for those affected who needed a place to go.
Shelter manager Mike Boisture said about 64 people had come to the church parking lot shortly before 10 a.m., and that some were making arrangements to stay with family.
“It’s a stressful thing to be kicked out of your house,” he said.
Central Pierce said 86 people were at the church as of about 2 p.m. and that it wasn’t clear how many of the 10,000 who got reverse 911 calls had evacuated.
Greg and Laura Stevens left their home near Stewart Elementary and headed to the church after they woke up to a call from their son about the fire. They also got a text message from friends abroad in Holland who got an alert about the evacuation.
The Stevens and Molli, their 11-year-old Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix, planned to stay at the evacuation site for a bit, in hopes that they could soon return home and get medicines they’d left behind. Otherwise, they said they’d go stay with their son.
Rushing out the door they forgot their to-go bag and a leash for Molli.
Instead, they fashioned a leash out of his belt.
Molli was doing well, Greg Stevens said, though “she was a little mad she didn’t get fed right away,” Saturday morning.
He noted that it was fortunate the fire didn’t happen while school was in session or on a day the Sounder commuter trains were running.
“If it had to happen, it’s a good day to happen,” he said. “Except for the farmer’s market.”
The shelter offered zucchini cake, donuts, coffee and water, they said.
Susan Kletsch and her husband Roger evacuated with their mini-Dachshund, Candy.
She’s a member at the church, and praised the zucchini bread, which was pulled from another church member’s freezer.
“I’ve made a few loaves in my time,” she said. “It’s really good bread.”
She said she woke up at 8 a.m. and saw a voice message on their landline, telling them about the emergency.
“I did not hear the phone ring,” she said. “I looked out the front door and sure enough, there was a plume of gray smoke in the distance.”
As they left their home a police car drove by, broadcasting a message through its loudspeaker about the evacuation.
Candy, who associates car rides with visits to the vet, was happy to get fresh air in the church parking lot.
“Hopefully this will all be done in a short amount of time,” Kletsch said, without any residents being hurt.
“Thankfully it’s not super hot out or raining or anything,” she said.
Marlene Schmidt said she got the call from Pierce County about 7 a.m. as she was getting ready for breakfast. She “threw on lipstick and ran out the door.”
A neighbor later texted her that they could see debris in the yard from the fire.
“It is scary,” she said.
She visited outside the church with Nicole Cuthbertson and her family.
“When you think it can explode, it’s just a little nerve- wracking,” Cuthbertson said about the fire.
She left her home with her husband, son and her in-laws early Saturday, who arrived Friday for a long-awaited family reunion that had been delayed due to the pandemic.
Cuthbertson’s French Bulldog, Bogey, happened to wake up her owners to go to the bathroom, which is how they saw text messages, calls and an email from Pierce County about the fire.
“We probably would have slept right through the text,” she said. “It was very lucky.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published August 21, 2021 at 7:33 AM.
