Firefighters from Snohomish County have been called to battle an 6,400-acre wildfire burning in Dryden in central Washington.
The 18 specially trained firefighters are part of a regional crew from five counties: Snohomish, Skagit, San Juan, Whatcom and Island counties.
The task forces were brought over to protect between 150 and 300 houses threatened by the fire, said Lt. Johnny Rebel, a volunteer firefighter with Snohomish County Fire District 26.
“Yesterday it was really hot. Today, it’s really windy. It’s changing every day,” Rebel said Monday evening.
Rebel and his team have been on the fire line since Sunday. Conditions are difficult but the firefighters enjoy the work, he said.
“We all want to be here,” he said.
There are nine regional mobilization crews to assist when fire departments across the state need additional assistance, according to Snohomish County Fire District 26 Chief Eric Andrews.
The state reimburses local departments to send firefighters to battle fires like the one burning in Dryden, Andrews said.
Last week, Snohomish County firefighters were sent to the Mud Lake fire near Naches, northwest of Yakima. That fire was contained Saturday evening.
A second team was sent to the Fischer Fire in Dryden on Aug. 10.
The first task force returned from the Mud Lake fire Friday and an hour later they were sent to Dryden, Andrews said
“The last report we had was the fire was growing so at this point they are there indefinitely,” Andrews said.
A replacement crew likely will be sent in on Thursday. Most of the firefighters are volunteers.
They use vacation time or take a leave of absence from their day jobs to battle fires away from home.
“They give up a lot for very little compensation,” Andrews said.
The majority of the firefighters are from Fire District 26 out of Gold Bar. Others are from Snohomish County Fire Districts 5, 16, 18, 22 and 28.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
