TULALIP — Three people injured in a fire were taken to hospitals Tuesday after a propane tank explosion in a recreational vehicle at the Port Susan Camping Club grounds on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
A woman believed to be in her 70s was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and her son was taken by ambulance to the Seattle hospital, which specializes in burn injuries.
A neighbor who tried to come to their aid with a garden hose was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, said Rob Johnson, deputy chief of the Tulalip Fire District.
Witnesses said they didn’t believe the injuries were life threatening.
Johnson said the fire occurred in a camping trailer that had a one-room addition. The trailer was destroyed along with a car and storage shed, he said.
The first call to the fire district was made around 10:30 a.m.
No damage estimates were immediately available.
Park manager Donald Franks said he saw the mother and son before they were taken from the scene.
“I didn’t see two people with massive burns to them,” he said. “I saw people who looked scorched. There is no doubt about it.”
The fire occurred at the Port Susan Camping Club. The private campground off Marine Drive covers about 800 acres. Part of the park is in the Tulalip Fire District; part is in the Marysville Fire District.
It’s a busy place during the summer when as many as 2,000 people visit on weekends. On weekdays, that number is typically in the 500 to 1,000 range, Franks said.
The park employs its own rangers who escorted fire crews to the blaze.
Johnson, of the Tulalip Fire Department, said the fire was accidental.
Investigators from the Snohomish Fire Marshal’s office were sifting through the scene late Tuesday afternoon.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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