Gig Harbor firefighters deployed to help battle region’s wildfires
When high winds and wildfires swept through the Northwest earlier this month, Gig Harbor firefighters went into action, sometimes far from home.
Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One deployed 13 firefighters and three engines to help communities as close as Sumner and as far away as Oregon. Some firefighters deployed several times.
Most Washington State fire departments are members of a region-wide mutual-aid agreement that allows firefighters to deploy across the state, or even across state lines, when requested during an emergency. Expenses are reimbursed through the state.
Three returned Gig Harbor firefighters recently talked to The Gateway about their experiences.
Allison Monda
Monda, who has worked with Gig Harbor Fire for four and a half years, was sent on September 3 to the Evans Canyon Fire near Yakima. This fire had already engulfed 75,000 acres by the time she arrived.
Monda was one of three firefighters from Gig Harbor who were dispatched to the Yakima-area fire.
“The first day we did some structural protection,” Monda said. “There was a river between us and the fire, so we made sure the fire stayed on that side of the river, and we were successful until the last evening some wind picked up and sent some embers out. Luckily we were all there and were able to extinguish those.”
From Evans Canyon, Monda then went to Pearl Hill Fire in Douglas County to protect some of the roads being used to evacuate residents. The chief then decided to locate to Bridgeport, a town of about 2,600 people at the foot of Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia, as there were fires all across this area.
“The hydrants there, the water is pushed through with pumps and the electricity was out, so we barely had any water to work with,” Monda said. “We just did what we could do manually. We pushed cars away to try and save residents, as not everyone had evacuated.”
Monda finally went to Omak, where there was a fire that burned over 180,000 acres.
“Those sides of the roads were black,” Monda said. “At one point there was a dead cow, there were families standing outside their homes that were burnt down, it was like a horror movie.
“There were a couple fires that were 200 feet away from some houses and we saved those structures,” she added.
Monda said although it was a horror scene, it was a good opportunity to use the training she has practiced every day.
“It was a privilege to use the skills we’ve been working on,” Monda said. “We don’t want bad things to happen, but it’s great to use the training.”
Monda arrived back in Gig Harbor at 11 p.m. on September 13.
Todd Meyer
Todd Meyer, who has been with Gig Harbor Fire for the past 24 years, was dispatched on September 3 to Detroit Lakes in Oregon. Meyer said the original fire was 700 acres, but many fires came together and within a 24-hour period the flames grew to cover 120,000 acres.
“The fire destroyed homes in Detroit, in the town of Gate, Mill City, Mehama, and Lyons, Oregon,” Meyer said.
Meyer and over 250 other fire fighters were stationed at a school, but they were surrounded by fires. The incident commander made the decision to evacuate the building and head to Salem, Oregon.
“After we left, the school burned down, where we were at,” Meyer said.
The fires continued to grow in Oregon, flames surrounding Meyer.
“The North Cascade area you had the Beachie Creek Fire, and then the one to the north was called Riverside, and then to the east it came over the Cascade Crest and it combined with the Beachie Creek Fire at the town of Detroit,” Meyer said. “Then we also have a fire to the south of us that is called the Holiday Farms Fire, and they are all over 100,000 acres apiece.”
Meyer said in his 24-year career with Gig Harbor Fire, this one was one of the top three in complexity.
“This is not just a fire, this is a disaster,” Meyer said. “Sometimes when you have fire, it’s just the fire to deal with. The complexity is really high, extreme. It’s almost more like a tornado or hurricane because there are people who have lost their lives, businesses that have been burned, transportation routes that have been compromised, utilities that have been destroyed.”
Meyer said all the lessons he has learned in Oregon will be valuable back in Gig Harbor.
Meyer returned to Gig Harbor on September 17.
John Johnson
Assistant Chief John Johnson, a 26-year veteran, was dispatched to Sumner Grade Fire for 35 hours.
Sumner Grade was a 494-acre fire.
“We still had some land that day when we initially got there. We worked in an area, letting the fire burn through and burn itself out,” Johnson said.
Johnson then helped fight a fire that demolished four mobile homes. These were suspected to have caught fire due to an electrical short.
“The brush caught on fire and went onto the trees over the mobile homes and they caught fire,” Johnson said. “I don’t think there were any injuries. The people in them evacuated.”
While Johnson was working on the mobile homes, another Gig Harbor engine worked to protect four to five homes/
“Something like this, we don’t expect it to happen, but everything has been so dry and the windstorm caused some problems with the power,” Johnson said. “Something like this in western Washington was unheard-of.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 5:30 AM.