MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Firefighters on Wednesday extinguished the fire smoldering for days on the island in the middle of Lake Ballinger.
Crews wrapped up their week-long efforts on the peat-bog island, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.
Firefighters used pumps and helicopters to dump several hundred thousand gallons of lake water on the blaze, she said.
“Fire was burning so deep and so hot in the peat that for the first three days the water was evaporating almost as quickly as it was being applied.” Hynes said.
Birds began to return to the island on Tuesday, she said.
The blaze was sparked July 29 by an illegal barbecue at a make-shift campsite. Fire is difficult to extinguish in peat because it travels underground.
Crews had to navigate sinkholes up to 40 feet across and filled with muddy peat up to 4 feet deep.
“Firefighters slogging through the muck would suddenly sink up to their hips,” Hynes said.
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