25 homes threatened by 'very serious' Mason Co. wildfire
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SHELTON, Wash. - About 25 homes are threatened by a "very serious" wildfire that has exploded Thursday afternoon near Rainbow Lake in Mason County, officials said, sending up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.
Every fire agency in the county responded to the blaze, said Dean Byrd, chief deputy with the Mason County Sheriff's Office. Firefighters also rushed to the scene from Thurston County and from the state Department of Natural Resources.
"We have 20 to 25 homes in the area that are in danger," Byrd said, adding that deputies are going from house to house in the Rainbow Lake area urging occupants to evacuate.
Jennifer Johns of Rainbow Lake was one of the residents advised to evacuate.
"I didn't even know what to grab, honestly, other than my brother and my dogs and some paperwork," she said.
Ten to 12 homes in the John's Creek area are under an "evacuation advisory," but there have been no mandatory evacuations.
Road closures also are in effect along East Rainbow Lake Drive, East Evergreen Drive and East Mason Lake Drive.
Crews are fighting the blaze from the ground and also by air, dropping water by helicopter.
"It's a very serious situation," Byrd said. "We still haven't got it contained."
The wildfire quickly grew from about five acres to 15 acres, then to 30 acres. By 8 p.m., Byrd said the fire had grown to 150 acres.
Many residents in the area said they couldn't believe that a fire this powerful would happen this late in the year.
"It's been freezing, so I was hoping that might help, but it's a little too dry," said Amanda Eagle of Limerick Lake.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
The fire also poses a potential risk to a Bonneville Power Administration transmission line that runs through the area and provides electricity to the Shelton area.
"The one thing were concerned about is the potential for heavy dense smoke from the fire to cause the power to arc out of the line and take it off line and cause it to relay out of service," said the BPA's Doug Johnson.
"We're monitoring it, we have crews on site to defend the line as much as they can. But at this point there doesn't appear to be any immediate danger to the line," he added.
The wildfire comes as a "red flag warning" is in effect for much of Western Washington. The National Weather Service issued the warning Thursday morning, and said any fire that develops in the affected areas could spread rapidly due to the prolonged dry weather and a steady breeze.
"Any fire that develops may experience dry east to northeast wind. This could cause rapid rates of fire spread and control problems," the Weather Service warning said.
Late Thursday night the Red Cross announced it had opened a shelter for Mason County residents who left their homes because of the fire. The shelter is located at 2621 E. John's Prairie Road in Shelton.
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This is a developing news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
Every fire agency in the county responded to the blaze, said Dean Byrd, chief deputy with the Mason County Sheriff's Office. Firefighters also rushed to the scene from Thurston County and from the state Department of Natural Resources.
"We have 20 to 25 homes in the area that are in danger," Byrd said, adding that deputies are going from house to house in the Rainbow Lake area urging occupants to evacuate.
Jennifer Johns of Rainbow Lake was one of the residents advised to evacuate.
"I didn't even know what to grab, honestly, other than my brother and my dogs and some paperwork," she said.
Ten to 12 homes in the John's Creek area are under an "evacuation advisory," but there have been no mandatory evacuations.
Road closures also are in effect along East Rainbow Lake Drive, East Evergreen Drive and East Mason Lake Drive.
Crews are fighting the blaze from the ground and also by air, dropping water by helicopter.
"It's a very serious situation," Byrd said. "We still haven't got it contained."
The wildfire quickly grew from about five acres to 15 acres, then to 30 acres. By 8 p.m., Byrd said the fire had grown to 150 acres.
Many residents in the area said they couldn't believe that a fire this powerful would happen this late in the year.
"It's been freezing, so I was hoping that might help, but it's a little too dry," said Amanda Eagle of Limerick Lake.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
The fire also poses a potential risk to a Bonneville Power Administration transmission line that runs through the area and provides electricity to the Shelton area.
"The one thing were concerned about is the potential for heavy dense smoke from the fire to cause the power to arc out of the line and take it off line and cause it to relay out of service," said the BPA's Doug Johnson.
"We're monitoring it, we have crews on site to defend the line as much as they can. But at this point there doesn't appear to be any immediate danger to the line," he added.
The wildfire comes as a "red flag warning" is in effect for much of Western Washington. The National Weather Service issued the warning Thursday morning, and said any fire that develops in the affected areas could spread rapidly due to the prolonged dry weather and a steady breeze.
"Any fire that develops may experience dry east to northeast wind. This could cause rapid rates of fire spread and control problems," the Weather Service warning said.
Late Thursday night the Red Cross announced it had opened a shelter for Mason County residents who left their homes because of the fire. The shelter is located at 2621 E. John's Prairie Road in Shelton.
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This is a developing news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
This link shows the map we've been looking for. Great!
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/10/06/2322623/brush-fire-northeast-of-shelton.html
Some good info at this site:
http://masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/40832-powerline-2-fire-incident-overview
It;s frustrating I tell ya. After spending my life in Shelton I moved away. That lake was my last neighborhood before moving. Thing is, my brothers and sister are living on Rainbow Dr. I can't get any current information either so I have to trust that my loved ones are ok. What a great idea to map this fire for us.
Is there any new news about the fire? I can still hear helicopters and smell the smoke, but not taking my chances of going to town today.
Could we please have an update here.?
Last I heard it is heading south towards Shelton, Lake Limerick is OK.. You can google the map area for the ones wanting to know. Rainbow lake is in the intersection of E, Mason Lake Road and McEwan Prairie Road.. Some of the street names around Rainbow lake are E Evergreen Dr, E Rainbow Dr.. If you google for those streets which is Rainbow lake you can see where it is going south to East Johns Prairie Road.. It helps to see the map to see the direction its going and how it is away from Lake Limerick..
I'm hoping KOMO can map out exactly where the fire is and what has burned to provide more of an image of the fire's size and where it's going.
 @Zoso look above I explained how you can see where the fire is going.
 @Zoso I've sent in a request to KMAS AM1030 in Shelton to request the DNR provide a coverage map to the fire boundaries.Â
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Does anyone know if Lake Limerick neighborhood is in danger? Our prayers are with all of the firefighters and families this is affecting.
 @GuayaRainbow Nope we're fine
 @GuayaRainbow Lake Limerick is not in danger. I live on Dartmoor Drive and it's completely clear.Â
 @StevenRosenow  @GuayaRainbow Yeah I hope Lake Limerick stays in the clear, otherwise that would be a real disaster. Coincidently I'm wearing my Lake Limerick jacket that I got from the pro shop as I'm typing this. LOL!
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 @sunshine  @StevenRosenow Oak Park is under an evacuation advisory at last I heard, since the fire was moving in that direction. Still not contained as far as I can tell.
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I don't think it is because it is moving South towards Johns Creek
a friend of mine said she was told by sheriff officers that the fire wont be contained tonight, they will have more help in the am the plan for tonight is to try and keep properties safe
what could we do as a community to help those in need of a lending hand ?
i by bay shore. i can see the huge fireball from here!
My son just called and said they are being manitorily evacuated......i live in Indiana, so I am not much help, but he did saay the fire jumped the fire line or pit or whatever it is that they use to try to stop it from advancing.......
where does ur son live in johns creek
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@connie rogers They got all the horses and other animals out a couple hours ago.
i dont live there either but I grew up in that area. I live up by mt st helens. and my brother still lives at my dads house up the road from there
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@connie rogers Well, I sure hope the fire gets stopped before it gets to Shelton. I have been there only once. I am prayng, back here in Indiana............
yah i think that is the martinells stables and they r taking them up the road next to my dads place by wilburs'
@connie rogers I am not sure but he lives on a horse stable place, run by April Cambell, if you know her, then you know where that is.
I just found out my Uncle's house is in the path of the fire and they can't return home to pack anything else up, because they are only letting people leave the area, not enter. Â
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Not a good situation for anyone near there.
where is that
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 @connie rogers Right near John's Creek.  Communication with them has been spotty, last I heard the crew in the area had drawn a fireline through their property and they could see the fire.  We don't know what has happened since then or where they are exactly.  Our family is praying for them to be safe.
 @connie rogers Sounds like the fire is already on their property now, it's a big property so there's still some room to go before they start losing buildings/house, but they have already lost some items (not sure I want to be too specific in a public forum like this to protect identities).  I am praying they don't have too much loss from this.
 @Landshark I will pray that your family's house will be ok and they wont loose anything..
its heading in ALL directions
it must be right behind the new billion dollar PUD building by now!
 @Jeremy Moran yes they said it was 300 feet from it. IF it hits those buildings Shelton and surrounding areas are going to loose power.
I can se it across the bay and it does not look like it has "dissipated"at all.
I just took pics of it, and it does not look like the smoke has "dissipated" at all.
From my understanding as of about 20 minutes ago the fire had grown to approx 30 acres and is still not contained.Â
Looks like it must be under control as the smoke and plumes have dissipated. Great work from our volunteers, DNR, and neighboring county fire fighters. I am sure there will be many families resting a bit easier tonight.
 @Tolly371 I say that because I live right by it and just had a news helicopter fly overhead.
 @Tolly371 It is not under control. it is actually still under zero percent containment. At 150 acres and climbing.
Thoughts and prayers to all in the area. We live right in Shelton just up from downtown, the smoke was visible an hour ago here. Â Very scary...we know a family that has been evacuated. Â Hope all fire fighters are safe as well...
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Does anyone know which way its headed?
 @alicia77 Looks like it's going south.
is it contained yet?
we had to go through union
My parents and my Grandpa are stuck and can not find an alternate route into Lake Limerick, does anyone know of a different route other than hwy 3?
 @Laura Marie If they are coming from Hwy 3, my recommendation is to go north until the left that goes to Mason Left, basically where those power lines on the side of the highway go, then you can make a left onto Mason Lake Road from there. It may be a bit of a drive but it will get you thru.
@Zoso @Laura Marie I was going to suggest the same thing-- good luck, Laura and Zoso- Â hope you guys get home safe! Thinking of you all from Hoodsport! <3
 @luckyjulybaby Actually I'm in Renton, but we do have property out at Lake Limerick so I definitely know the area very well, but thank you for your thoughts. :)
@Zoso Thank you. They are stuck at the construction light on hwy 3, I don't know if they can get in from mason lake rd, are you talking about the left turn from the bay or further up hwy 3?
@Laura Marie Awesome!Hope it all works out alright. I gotta thank my Uncle Fred for giving us that route a while back as an FYI. Never know when it's gonna be useful. :)
@Zoso Alright, I think that is the route they are going. Thank you. =]
 @Laura Marie Yeah it's farther north. Past Deer Creek, past the right turn that goes to Spencer Lake, it's the left turn past that, it's Mason-Benson Road. You'll eventually come to an intersection at Mason Lake Road and make a left there just after passing Benson Lake on the left side.
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Yeah I hate that construction light too. ;)