Carnation Fire Blamed On Fireworks
Remnants of a "ground bloomer" firework, a variety that spins and emits flames and sparks, were found where the fire is believed to have started, Rick Gaines, chairman of King County's Fire District 10 commissioners, told The Seattle Times.
The fire was out Friday afternoon, though about 60 firefighters worked into the night stamping out hot spots, said Eastside Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief John Murphy. No one was injured and no homes were damaged, though six sheds and outbuildings burned.
Fire crews were initially worried about embers floating down onto the hundreds of shake-roof homes below the wooded hillside.
"We have been concerned about this kind of thing for years," Yvonne Funderburg, Carnation's deputy mayor, told The Times. She said the City Council is working on a resolution that would ban shake-roof homes.
Residents who evacuated Thursday and spent the night with friends or family returned home Friday. No one used a temporary shelter set up by the Red Cross on Thursday night, officials said.
Other Fires Still Burning
In Mount Rainier National Park, three small fires - ignited by lightning Aug. 5 - continued to burn Saturday, said David Widmark with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
"It's burning the duff and the downed material," he said, referring to the build-up of branches, leaves and needles on the forest floor.
Authorities had been just monitoring the slow-burning fires, which have consumed 24 acres. But on Thursday, 151 people were assigned to work on the blazes in the park's southeast corner, about 13 miles north-northeast of Packwood.
Meanwhile, a wildfire just a half-mile from the Canadian border was 35 percent contained Saturday morning, but firefighters worried that expected winds could spread the blaze.
More than 900 U.S. firefighters in eastern Washington were battling the Togo fire, which was estimated to have charred 5,140 acres, information officer Brian Miller said Saturday.
"We've had some real problems putting in a containment line," he said, although by Friday night, crews had hacked a fire trail around the blaze. "We had a real good day yesterday."
Clear skies, 20 percent humidity and winds of 10-15 mph were expected Saturday - conditions that concern firefighters, Miller said.
No structures were threatened. However, just to the north of the fire in the British Columbia town of Grand Forks. Canadian authorities have built a contingency line to help protect 61 homes along the border, Miller said.
Lightning started the fire Aug. 6, about three miles east of Danville.