Orting Valley firefighter reunites dog, owner at Leavenworth fire

An Orting Valley Fire and Rescue firefighter working a blaze near Leavenworth rescued a dog Monday morning from a burned-out area.

A picture posted to Orting Valley Fire’s Facebook page shows Will Lengel holding a dirty West Highlands white terrier in his arms as he walks down a partially burned slope at the site of the Suncrest fire.

Lengel thought the dog had survived the 500-acre fire, Orting Valley Fire Chief Zane Gibson said. He didn’t know the dog had wandered away from its owner a few hours before.

The dog was successfully reunited with its owner.

“The picture in this case is not worth a thousand words, but it was a great picture,” Gibson said. “That’s why we posted it.”

The Orting Valley firefighters are part of a Pierce County crew that helps fight brush fires throughout the state when necessary, and they have been away from home for more than a week.

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Orting Valley firefighter reunites dog, owner at Leavenworth fire."