Tulalip fire ‘blowtorch’

Gale-force winds made it tough to contain blazes

By Sharon Salyer

Herald Writer

TULALIP — To homeowner Bill Nurmi, wind gusts estimated at up to 70 mph fanned the flames engulfing his home Saturday night into a "blowtorch."

"She was a goner," he said of his house in the 3100 block of Mission Beach Road, first bought by his family in 1962.

"The fire department did an incredible job of containing it the way they did," Nurmi said. "It could easily have gotten away," he added, explaining that homes in his neighborhood are built close together. Winds were so strong "the water was coming right back in their faces."

The fire, which broke out about 9:30 Saturday night, was much more destructive than it otherwise would have been because of the gale-force wind gusts powered by a massive winter storm. They "literally were about blowing you over," said Ed Hardesty, deputy fire marshal with the Snohomish County Fire Marshall’s office.

The flames "shot out horizontally," he said. "The wind was blowing that hard."

Forty-two firefighters from six departments battled the intense blaze, which was thought to have been triggered when a high-voltage power line providing electricity to Hat Island fell across Nurmi’s house.

Despite their efforts, the fire not only reduced Nurmi’s house to little more than ashes, it also destroyed his workshop, two boats and his car as well as an adjacent house used as a summer home by Linda and Lon Welly of Everett.

No one was home at either house when the fire began. No firefighters were injured.

Hardesty estimated the damage to be at least $280,000 for the two homes.

On Saturday night, the Wellys were phoned by friends and could see the intense flames across the bay destroying their summer home, bought two years ago, as they stood in their residence on Rucker Hill in downtown Everett

"I still have my family, that’s the important thing," Linda Welly said Sunday night. "The rest of it is all replaceable."

She credited two neighborhood youths, Steve Solie and Quin Chapman, with initially spotting the fire and quickly summoning help.

Brad Lutthans, fire chief for the Tulalip Bay Fire Department, said it took two hours to bring the fires under control. Firefighters were on the scene until 8 a.m. Sunday morning, on the alert for hot spots.

Lutthans said the intense winds made the fire one of the most difficult he has ever faced in 20 years of fire fighting.

"We had to really get close to get the water on the house fire because (the water) was blowing back on us," he said.

"It was very unusual conditions," he said. "It reminded us of the California wildfires."

Explaining that adjacent houses were sometimes only ten feet apart, Lutthans said: "We were concerned about losing more than the two houses that were burning when we got there."

"The best description would be a fire storm," Christian Davis with Snohomish County Fire Department 14, based in the Stanwood area. "It was a storm of smoke, ash, embers and debris just blowing everywhere. "

You can call Herald Writer Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486

or send e-mail to salyer@heraldnet.com.

STEPHANIE S. CORDLE / The Herald

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