Cause of fire south of Blyn under investigation

The state Department of Natural Resources is investigating the cause of a brush fire that burned on a hill south of Blyn on July 27, Clallam County Fire District 3 officials said.

District 3 Duty Chief Eric Quitslund said the fast-moving fire burned in logging slash from an old landing. No structures were in danger, he said.

Smoke from the fire was visible from U.S. Highway 101, prompting numerous 9-1-1 calls Friday afternoon.

“We all got there at about the same time,” Quitslund said of the DNR-District 3 response. “It kept on growing and growing.”

Quitslund estimated that the fire had grown to about 1½ acres before it was contained.

He said the cause of the fire appeared to be accidental.

District 3 provided a brush engine and two water tenders for the initial response, Quitslund said.

A DNR helicopter dropped buckets of water from Sequim Bay onto the fire.

East Jefferson Fire-Rescue sent a brush crew to augment the response, Quitslund said.

Meanwhile, DNR crews were responding to an estimated 400-acre wildfire that was burning near Wenatchee on Friday.

Because of warmer weather, low humidity and reduced moisture levels, the Clallam County fire danger was upgraded to high on Friday, Fire Marshal Annette Warren announced.

A smaller brush fire northeast of Blyn was contained to less than one acre on July 25.

Burn ban modified in Clallam

Because of atmospheric conditions of reduced moisture levels, low humidity and warmer weather combined with the reduced availability of fire-fighting resources, the Clallam County Burn Ban is being modified to a “High” fire danger, Building Official/Fire Marshal Annette Warren said last week.

Camp fires a maximum of 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height are still allowed; however, they must be contained within a concrete or metal fire pit located in an approved campground or on private property with the property owner’s permission. The exceptions to this modification are those campgrounds within the Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest which are not regulated by the county.

The Clallam County Fire Marshal’s office urges all county residents and property owners to be attentive to the condition of their properties through proactive fire prevention measures. Maintaining a 30-foot defensible space around structures helps firefighters by creating a zone of protection around personal property.

Find more information concerning Defensible Space on the Clallam County at www.clallam.net/Permits/burningrestrictions.html.