Quick response allows fire crews to contain brush fire north of Ferndale
Firefighters responded to a brush fire that burned a stretch of dry grass 200 yards long Tuesday afternoon in Whatcom County.
No injuries or damaged buildings were reported, and the exact cause of the blaze remains unknown, according to Adam Smith, battalion chief with North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR).
Firefighters from NWFR, the Ferndale Fire Department and the Lynden Fire Department responded to the scene in the 7900 block of Woodland Road after receiving the call around 3:44 p.m. Smith said there were strong westerly winds and very dry grass, so firefighters worked to contain the fire.
“The priorities are: we evaluate (when fighting brush fires) if there are any nearby structures, in case we need to evacuate any residents with a fire that is moving fast like that,” Smith said. “There were some nearby residences, but because we were able to get on scene so quickly, we were able to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading closer to the house. So we definitely want to get between homes and what is unburnt.”
The fire was about an acre large, and about 200 yards by 20 yards when the first firefighters arrived on scene. It took about 15-20 minutes to get the fire under control, and then another 90 minutes looking for hot spots and mopping up.
“We also have to be very cautious of the wind direction. This was a smaller fire, but any bigger wildland fires, you never want to get in front of where the fire is going,” Smith said. “We always want to try and approach the fire from the burned side, but because of its size our crews were able to get in and get it out before it got to the house.”
Firefighters were also concerned that the fire was able to get into the trees. There are a number of problems when trying to extinguish a fire that is 20-30 feet off ground level, not least of which is simply getting water into the branches.
“It’s some pretty tall timber, one problem is it’s just harder to extinguish, and two, you get a lot more embers that can get swept away with the wind. Luckily that didn’t affect us yesterday, but you can get spot fires that are actually a distance away from where we are just because of the height and the wind,” Smith said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined.
Smith said people should remember there is a stage one burn ban in effect for Whatcom County, which prohibits all open flames outdoors other than campfires. He also said people should remain cautious and careful given how dry the weather has been recently.
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