EVERETT — Emergency officials said they have contained a brush fire Thursday north of Bothell.
The blaze, dubbed the Timber Creek Fire, broke out Wednesday afternoon in the 19100 block of 43rd Avenue in unincorporated Snohomish County. It quickly grew to 3 acres, prompting a multi-agency response.
As of 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Ryan Rodruck said the fire had been contained at 1.5 acres.
Initially, crews from Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue, South County Fire, Sky Valley Fire and Department of Natural Resources were at the scene, with a Department of Natural Resources helicopter called in to dump water around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Flames reached as high as 6 feet, Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue spokesperson Peter Mongillo said on Wednesday evening, and neighbors self-evacuated the area as a precaution.
“It’s kind of a pesky little fire because of the location, and also there’s very minimal water supply,” Mongillo said. Thursday morning, Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue was off the fire but supplied the Department of Natural Resources with a water tender to get resources to the area, he said.
The fire started under high power lines controlled by Puget Sound Energy, which turned the lines off to assist in the firefighting efforts, Mongillo added.
As of Thursday morning, the cause of the fire was still being investigated.
Fires also broke out earlier this week near Arlington on Monday, forcing the closure of the northbound lanes of I-5.
“We tend to think of wildfire as an Eastern Washington problem. I think this highlights the fact that it is very much a Western Washington problem as well,” Rodruck said. “Folks need to be aware, prepare their home and potentially have an evacuation plan together, should that need arise.”
SnoCoAlerts is the county’s early warning and notification system, which can be tailored to specific locations. People can sign up online at https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=snohomish.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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