Live Updates: Fire forces evacuations in Bonney Lake; schools canceled there Wednesday
This page includes fire developments for Tuesday, September 8.
Multiple wildfires caused mayhem across Pierce County, destroying homes, closing highways and prompting evacuations.
Here’s the latest information gathered by The News Tribune:
Evacuation issued for residents south of 410 in Bonney Lake
7:31 p.m. — A “Level 3” evacuation alert has been issued for all areas south and west of state Route 410 all the way to Angeline Road and Rhodes Lake Road to McCutcheon in Pierce County due to a spreading wildfire, according to the Bonney Lake Police Department.
A Level 3 evacuation alert means there is immediate danger in the area and residents should leave immediately.
“Please leave now,” the Bonney Lake Police Department said on Twitter.
The alert comes shortly after a Level 2 evacuation alert was made asking people to prepare to leave.
“Prepare your route. Traffic will be difficult,” the Bonney Lake Police Department tweeted.
People are asked to call the Pierce County Evacuation Line at 253-798-1571 for any questions.
School canceled for Wednesday in Sumner/Bonney Lake
7:19 p.m. — The Sumner/Bonney Lake School District has canceled classes for Wednesday.
“With continued power outages, active fires, forecasts for gusty winds & hot/dry temps & increasing evacuations, we are canceling school for Wed. Sept. 9,” the district tweeted.
Meal service, Kinder Connections and child care also was being canceled, the district said.
Crews trying to contain wildfire in Wapato Hills Park
1:09 p.m. — Tacoma firefighters are responding to a small brush fire in the 5600 block of Tacoma Mall Boulevard.
Crews were called just before 1 p.m. to the area.
Traffic is blocked in both directions on South 56th Street while firefighters attempt to douse the flames.
The fire is about 200 x 200 in a wooded area of Wapato Hills Park, according to the Fire Department.
No buildings are threatened at this time.
Brush fire starting near SR 512 and I-5
12:57 p.m. — Multiple brush fires have started in Lakewood near state Route 512 and Interstate 5, according to West Pierce Fire & Rescue.
The first blaze was reported about 12:40 p.m.
Closed are the on-ramp to northbound I-5, the northbound off-ramp to westbound SR 512 and the northbound I-5 exit to eastbound SR 512.
Officials said flames jumped the interchange within minutes.
Downed trees have closed roads in Tacoma, Pierce County
9:57 a.m. — Several roads in Pierce County are closed due to downed trees. Here are some of them:
In Tacoma, East Browning Street from Pioneer Way East to East Grandview Avenue is closed due to multiple downed trees.
The road is expected to be closed for at least a day or two because crews cannot start cleanup until the winds die down, Public Works Division Manager Rae Bailey said.
Orville Road East from Electron Road East to Buttes Drive East is closed due to downed trees/utility lines.
264th Street East from Orting Kapowsin Highway to 158th Avenue East is closed due to a downed tree/utility wires.
Myers Road East between South Tapps Drive East and West Tapps Drive East is closed due to brush fires.
Jovita Boulevard East from 114th Avenue East and the West Valley Highway is closed due to a downed tree.
122nd Avenue East between 159th Street East and 176th Street East is closed due to a tree leaning on utility lines.
A downed tree is blocking Sunrise Beach Drive near Moeller Drive NW. A crew is on the way to try to clear the tree.
A downed tree is blocking the 193rd Avenue East and Mary Ann Drive East intersection. A crew is on the way to try to clear the tree.
A downed tree is blocking the road in the 3500 block of 109th Ct NW. A crew is on the way to try to clear the tree.
Growing wildfire near Enumclaw closes another section of SR 410
9:32 a.m. — A large brush fire is spreading near Enumclaw but is not threatening homes, according to the Fire Department.
By 9 a.m., the wildfire had burned roughly 10 acres.
State Route 410 was closed at milepost 32 between Enumclaw and Greenwater. Drivers heading to Mount Rainier National Park were advised to take another route.
“Fire is wind-driven in steep terrain,” Enumclaw Fire wrote on its Facebook page.
Firefighters from Greenwater, Buckley, Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority and the state Department of Natural Resources.
SR 410 between mileposts 29 and 31 will be closed “for the next couple of days,” according to the state Department of Transportation.
That is in the Southeast Mud Mountain Road area.
Five Mile Drive, Sumner park close due to downed trees
8:20 a.m. — Point Defiance Park’s scenic Five Mile Drive will remain closed Tuesday due to downed trees and debris, according to Metro Parks Tacoma.
Crews will be out Tuesday and Wednesday doing cleanup.
Loyalty Park in Sumner is also closed because of downed trees and overhanging branches, the city said.
City workers are inspecting trees along the Sumner Link Trail, which is closed Tuesday.
Power outages across Pierce County
8:18 a.m. — Trees and branches blown down by wind have caused power outages across the county.
Tacoma Public Utilities reports 2,500 customers without electricity at this hour. Puget Sound Energy is reporting more than 200 customers without power in Pierce County.
Most customers in the Tacoma area should have power restored by 10 a.m., TPU said.
Downed power lines have closed at least two roads in Puyallup: 23rd Avenue SE from 26th Street to Shaw Road, and 27th Avenue SE from 36th Street to Rodesco Drive.
Wildfire in Sumner-Bonney Lake shuts down SR 410, forces school to be canceled
7:36 a.m. —A wildfire burning between Sumner and Bonney Lake has forced the closure of state Route 410 and delayed the first day of school.
The fire broke out about 12:20 a.m. around Myers Road then spread down the hill toward Sumner.
SR 410 is closed from Bonney Lake to Sumner and about five miles east of Enumclaw. It isn’t expected to reopen anytime soon, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Drivers are using state Route 162 to get around and that is causing traffic backups, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.
The first day of classes Tuesday was canceled in the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District due to widespread power outages and evacuations.
Fire officials are unable to say how big the blaze is, but East Pierce Fire Chief Bud Backer said it’s “good sized.”
100-acre wildfire in Graham destroys houses, forces evacuations
6:35 a.m. — At least eight Graham homes were destroyed by a wildfire late Monday and about 100 people were evacuated, according to Graham Fire & Rescue.
The blaze started about 9 p.m. and grew to more than 100 acres overnight.
Crews do not have an official count yet, but believe eight to 10 houses have burned in the area of 15400 block of 240th Street East. Several more outbuildings, cars and RVs were also destroyed.
Evacuation orders remain in place for the El Dorrado Estates neighborhood.
Those forced to flee their homes are being sent to Frontier Park, where Red Cross workers are assisting with finding food and temporary shelter.
As in other areas of Pierce County and across the state, firefighters struggled to contain wildfires due to strong winds.
“The good news is we were able to get ahead of it once the wind stopped,” Assistant Chief Steve Richards said. ‘”However, right now it’s still contained and we’re in the mop-up mode. But we’re concerned . If the wind picks back up, it could do some damage.”
The brush fire is under control and firefighters are working to contain it, Graham Fire said about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
It was not immediately known what sparked the brush fire, but Richards said it was likely high winds knocking a tree into a power line.
An investigation will be done into the cause after the wildfire is put out, which the assistant chief estimated will take at least another day.
Brush fire near Sumner forces closure of SR 167, SR 410
A large brush fire broke out near Sumner Monday evening, shutting down both directions of state Route 167 and state Route 410.
Almost immediately after the fire started around 7:30 p.m., traffic backed up as roads closed, power lines fell and fire crews tried to contain the growing blaze.
Both directions of SR 167 and SR 410 shut down, as well as eastbound state Route 512 to northbound SR 167.
Power lines were down on both highways, Trooper Ryan Burke said.
Puget Sound Energy reported more than 300 homes and businesses were affected by an outage.
Sumner police evacuated a few people, though no injuries were reported.
It was not immediately clear what started the fire, which was fueled by high winds.
SR 410 reopened just before 10 p.m. Northbound SR 167 remained closed at 11:30 p.m. and officials were unsure when it would reopen.
“Fire is working on smolders now,” Burke said at 11:20 p.m.
“Crazy night. Multiple brush fires, wires down. More alarms than fire engines. Your firefighters throughout the region are busting their (tails) tonight,” East Pierce Fire tweeted at 11:20 p.m.
Wildfire smoke blows into Western Washington
6:20 a.m. — Thick smoke from several new wildfires is choking Western Washington as unseasonably high winds fan the flames and cause widespread power outages.
Air quality registered as unhealthy Tuesday, according to the state Department of Ecology, and it’s unclear when it will improve.
“As the winds are shifting significantly, it is difficult to predict how long the smoke will persist, but some smoke may linger through at least Wednesday,” according to Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Few power outages were reported in Tacoma, but Puget Sound Energy said more than 80,000 customers were without electricity.
More than 300 of those were in the Sumner area after a brush fire shut down both directions of state Route 167 and state Route 410. Troopers said power lines were down on both highways.
Officials said the smoke settling over the Puget Sound region is from several new wildfires in Eastern Washington that sparked late Sunday and Monday.
At least 288,000 acres burned across the state Monday, destroying many homes.
“I’m sick, the amount of new fires today is unreal,” tweeted Josh Clark, a fire meteorologist for the state’s Department of Natural Resources. ”Every one of these was 100 percent human-caused and therefore 100 percent preventable.”
The Cold Spring Canyon Fire began on the Colville reservation south of Omak and grew to 150,000 acres by late Monday, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The Evans Canyon Fire just north of Naches was more than 75,810 acres but is 60 percent contained.
Most of the state remained under a Red Flag Warning due to winds gusting nearly 40 mph in some areas.
Temperatures are forecast to be high this week, though it could cool some by the weekend.
“An extended period of warm and dry conditions will aid in the development of critical fire weather conditions and heat risk for much of the week,” according to the National Weather Service.
Floating crane breaks loose, strikes spots along Ruston Way Waterfront
6:41 a.m. — A floating crane broke loose during Monday night’s windstorm and struck several spots along the Ruston Way waterfront, officials said.
Ruston Way between the 2300 block and the 4900 block closed shortly before midnight as officials took tug boats out to assess the situation.
The barge containing the crane floated along from the Port of Tacoma, striking pylons as it went, until it was stopped outside Katie Downs Waterfront Tavern.
Damages were not immediately known.
Orting, Sumner-Bonney Lake, Puyallup school districts cancel school due to fires, power outages
7:32 a.m. — School is canceled for some Pierce County school districts due to fires, thick smoke and power outages in the area.
Sumner-Bonney Lake and Orting school districts made the announcement early Tuesday morning.
“Due to a widespread power outage affecting thousands in Sumner and Bonney Lake, including all of our schools, and with no access to the internet, we need to cancel school today, Sept. 8,” Sumner-Bonney Lake posted on its Facebook account on its first day of school. “With high winds in the forecast and continuing fires in the area, we’re uncertain when power can be restored to all of our students and staff. Please stay tuned as we will try to communicate with all families as we, too, have limited internet access.”
Orting posted on social media that it expects to resume school Wednesday.
Puyallup schools said school and distance learning is canceled for Tuesday but meals will still be distributed at all school sites between 11 a.m. and noon.
Districts are returning to school remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 7:31 AM with the headline "Live Updates: Fire forces evacuations in Bonney Lake; schools canceled there Wednesday."