Highway brush fires more than a motorists headache
Published 6:12 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2015
MARYSVILLE — A grass fire along I-5 in Marysville Tuesday that consumed roughly a quarter acre managed to reduce traffic to an eight-mile trickle.
Then it seemed to take a long time to put out.
Marysville Fire Marshal Tom Maloney said he gets as frustrated as anyone else with the hassle highway brush fires can cause commuters, but there is nothing firefighters can do to speed up the process.
Tuesday’s fire was both quick and stubborn.
“Part of the problem with any of the fires on the freeway is they can be fast-moving,” Maloney said. “The grass vegetation is a finer fuel and when it is wind driven, the fire will grow rapidly.”
That’s what happened Tuesday with fire climbing trees and threatening homes nearby.
Fire departments around Puget Sound are better equipped to put out structure fires than wildfires, Maloney said. With no fire hydrants alongside the highway shoulders, firefighters rely on water to be trucked in. That means more fire crews and vehicles lining up along the shoulders where cars otherwise would be whizzing by at 60 mph.
Suburban fire departments also typically don’t have brush trucks designed to go off roads to fight fires in vegetation, he said.
Lane closures are meant to protect firefighters, who are focused on putting out a fire, from drivers, who often become distracted, Maloney said.
Fires also spread underground, burning through decayed vegetation. That can prove challenging, with hot spots flaring up in areas already thought to be put out.
Tuesday’s fire, first reported shortly before 3 p.m., took a little more than an hour to contain and keep from spreading, but it required hours of monitoring.
Crews from Marysville, Arlington, Getchell, Tulalip Bay and the state Department of Natural Resources in Skagit County teamed up to put it out. The DNR crew specializes in fighting wildfires.
Firefighters had to return again at 2:45 a.m. and around 8 a.m. Wednesday to extinguish hot spots.
Tuesday’s fire near the 116th Street NE interchange brought traffic to crawl on I-5 and on arterials and side streets in downtown Everett. At one point, it took more than a half hour to drive three blocks along Broadway.
“We truly understand everyone’s aggravation after working all day and getting stuck in traffic,” Maloney said. “We get it. There is nothing worse than sitting in traffic for six miles. I have been in it. It’s a bummer.”
The cause of Tuesday’s fire is under investigation.
With dry conditions, brush fires have been a big concern this summer.
Arson is blamed for a rash of brush fires that stretched from Dagmars Marina in north Everett to Skagit County along I-5 on June 30. They, too, tied up traffic for miles.
Janet Pearce, a DNR spokeswoman, said the state agency helps fire districts when it can. It expects to be particularly busy aiding others this summer.
“It’s going to take a village this year,” she said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
