Live Updates: Fires burn 4 homes in Bonney Lake; Pierce County declares emergency
This page includes fire developments for Wednesday, September 9.
Fires continue to burn in Pierce County on Wednesday morning. Here is the latest information gathered by The News Tribune:
Evacuation orders lifted in Graham
6:00 p.m. — Residents can now return to their homes in Graham. The level 3 evacuation order was lifted. “Firefighters have worked tirelessly to get our community back into their homes,” Graham Fire & Rescue tweeted.
New brush fire in Puyallup shuts down ramp to SR 167
2:28 p.m. — A large brush fire has shut down the northbound state Route 167 on-ramp from North Meridian, Puyallup police said.
Officials said the fire started about 2:20 p.m. on northbound state Route 161 near state Route 512.
No further details were immediately available.
Sumner Grade Fire now estimated to be 800 acres
2:07 p.m. — The Sumner Grade Fire is now estimated to be 800 acres, which is a significant jump from the 150 acres officials previously believed it had burned.
East Pierce Fire Chief Bud Backer said he has been guessing at the wildfire’s size, but state officials brought in more resources to do an accurate count.
Containment remains at 20 percent.
Helicopters deployed from Pierce County Airport to drop water on fires
1:14 p.m. — Hearing helicopters overhead in Pierce County and wondering what’s going on?
Firefighters are using the Pierce County Airport-Thun Field in Puyallup to deploy three Black Hawk helicopters from the Washington National Guard.
The helicopters are being used to drop water on the Sumner Grade Fire in Bonney Lake.
Pierce County evacuation hotline busy so call again if no answer
11:53 a.m. —Pierce County Emergency Management’s call center has received more than 1,300 calls since the wildfires started on Monday, department spokesperson Mike Halliday said.
Halliday said phone lines that had previously been used to help connect folks to COVID-19 rental assistance and other resources have become hotlines to those evacuated.
There has been a queue, so the department is asking callers to have patience.
“If people are put in hold that they continue to wait,” he said. “We are working as fast as we can to move on to help the next person in line.”
More operators have been added to respond to the increased calls.
Power line outages have been another challenge to reaching people, Halliday said. Many emergency crews have been providing updates on the fires through social media, but some in the affected areas don’t have internet access due to toppled power lines.
Puget Sound Energy and other local utilities are working with the county to restore power, Halliday said.
Law enforcement have been knocking on doors to get residents out of at-risk areas. There were no evacuations last night, Halliday said.
No evacuated area has been deemed safe enough for residents to return, Halliday said. While there may not be an active fire, there are still hot spots and concerns over potential high winds.Those who are reaching out to the county will be called when their area is safe.
“The same way we are notifying people to evacuate, we will notify people to return,” he said.
The fire evacuation line is 253-798-1571.
Food available for families evacuated from Sumner Grade fire
11:09 a.m. — Staff from the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District is banding together to distribute food to families forced to leave their homes by the Sumner Grade fire.
Lunches of hot dogs, bags of chips, bagged dessert and a beverage will be provided from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday in the courtyard and main gym of Sumner High School at 1707 Main St.
Meals will also be served to people who have been without power.
The donations were made from school staff at Sumner High, Sumner Middle, Daffodil Valley Elementary and Maple Lawn Elementary schools and others, said Sumner-Bonney Lake School District spokesperson Elle Warmuth.
Enumclaw wildfire grows to 60 acres; SR 410 still shut down
10:55 a.m. — A 60-acre wildfire burning near Enumclaw has been taken over by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
The blaze, dubbed the Fish Fire, is about six miles from Enumclaw and is not threatening homes.
It is more than two miles from the nearest house, according to the Enumclaw Fire Department.
City firefighters left the wildfire Wednesday, leaving DNR crews to take over.
“They have resources on site that are working toward containment and extinguishment,” Enumclaw Fire said on its Facebook page.
State Route 410 at Mud Mountain Dam Recreation Area remains closed and isn’t expected to reopen for a few days.
Pierce County declares state of emergency
10:22 a.m. — Pierce County has declared a state of emergency to allocate more resources to fighting the wildfires.
County Executive Bruce Dammeier signed the declaration Tuesday afternoon to allow for more help from other counties and the state. Firefighters and engines have come from Kitsap County, Kirkland and the state is offering command resources and helicopters.
The state of emergency also allows the county to move quicker in allocating needed resources and money, rather than following normal bureaucratic procedures.
“It allows us to move more nimbly,” Dammeier said.
When the fires jumped state Route 410 toward homes, Dammeier said he decided to declare a state emergency.
“It looked like it was going to be contained, and then the wind picked up,” he said. “It was the magnitude that we had multiple fires that were threatening homes. That’s where we said we need to be ready to move quickly and support fire efforts throughout the county.”
Schools in Orting, Sumner, Bonney Lake canceled Wednesday
9:56 a.m. — The Sumner-Bonney Lake and Orting school districts have 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 Sumner-Bonney Lake district tweeted.
Meal service, Kinder Connections and child care also was being canceled, the district said.
Orting schools canceled classes Wednesday “due to the continued power outage,” according to the district.
They hope to resume school Thursday.
Today’s closure includes all on-site services, meal services and remote learning.
Graham wildfire acreage not growing, six houses burned
9:12 a.m. — A wildfire that tore through a Graham neighborhood and destroyed six houses was holding steady Wednesday.
It has not grown beyond 100 acres and fire officials said it might even be less.
Firefighters who have been battling the blaze since it started late Monday were sent home to rest Tuesday night, and new crews were brought in.
“They were pretty much in standby and watch mode,” said Steve Richards, assistant chief for Graham Fire & Rescue.
Crews did, however, have several spot fires to extinguish.
Although eight houses were initially believed to have burned in the 15400 block of 240th Street East, officials now say the tally is six houses, three garages and numerous outbuildings.
No injuries have been reported.
Although the fire did not grow overnight, fire officials are still concerned about what the hot, dry weather could do.
“As the weather is getting warmer and we’re looking at a 90-degree day, we’re expecting to have some hot spots flaring up,” Richards said. “We’re taking this very seriously.”
The evacuation order remains in place, but is expected to be lifted later in the day.
Record-breaking temps forecast through Thursday in Tacoma-Seattle area
8:14 a.m. — Although winds have settled down in Western Washington, possible record-breaking heat is forecast through Thursday.
Temperatures at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and areas of Pierce County are expected to be in the high 80s.
“This is one of the reasons critical fire weather concerns continue even with lighter winds,” the National Weather Service said.
This is the second warmest first eight days of September in the last 76 years since record-keeping started, with an average temperature of 70.
Air quality remains unhealthy, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Wapato Hills Park fire 80 percent contained
7:29 a.m. — A fire in Wapato Hills Park in Tacoma was 80 percent contained early Wednesday, according to the Tacoma Fire Department.
The brush fire erupted Tuesday in a wooded area on the 5600 block of Tacoma Mall Boulevard and spread southwest toward Wapato Street and South 64th Street.
Firefighters went door to door on South 64th Street to speak with residents and business owners, but did not evacuate anyone.
Crews worked overnight to get control of the flames.
No structures have been damaged and no injuries have been reported.
150-acre Sumner Grade Fire destroys 4 homes
7:07 a.m. — A 150-acre wildfire near Bonney Lake and Sumner prompted hundreds to evacuate overnight and destroyed four houses but has not grown much in size.
The Sumner Grade Fire is 20 percent contained, fire officials said.
A “Level 3” evacuation alert remains in place for areas south and west of state Route 410 all the way to Angeline Road and Rhodes Lake Road to McCutcheon in Pierce County.
Although the area includes thousands of homes, only 500 or so are believed to have evacuated.
A temporary overnight shelter was set up at the Bonney Lake Senior Center, 19304 Bonney Lake Blvd. E.
With assistance from the state, East Pierce Fire Chief Bud Backer estimated there are 100 firefighters working to put out the brush fire.
“They’re tired but still working hard,” he said. “They’re still giving it their all.”
‘Critical fire weather conditions’
6:34 a.m. — In a Wednesday bulletin, the National Weather Service Office in Seattle said “critical fire weather conditions continue with Red Flag warnings up for much of Western Washington into Thursday.
“Easterly winds will also persist, resulting in reduced air quality at times due to smoke from Eastern WA wildfires.”
Record high temperatures in the 80s and 90s and low humidity are forecast.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Live Updates: Fires burn 4 homes in Bonney Lake; Pierce County declares emergency."
