Evacuation orders in place for parts of southwest Washington due to wildfire danger
Sep 10, 2022, 9:23 AM | Updated: Sep 12, 2022, 12:30 pm
Photo from KIRO 7
Lewis County Emergency Management has issued a Level 3 evacuation notice — meaning leave now — for the Goat Rocks, High Valley and Timberline areas due to dangerous wildfire conditions.
Residents have been told to evacuate to White Pass High School.
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A Level 2 evacuation notice — be ready to leave — has been issued for Packwood.
The fire has grown to 1,800 acres and levels 2 and 3 evacuations are affecting more than 1,200 people.
The Washington State Department of Transportation also announced that U.S. Route 12 is closed in both directions between milepost 131.4 near Skate Creek Road and milepost 151 near White Pass Summit.
Road closure on US 12 EB between MP 131.4 near Skate Creek Road to MP 151 near White Pass summit is closed due to wildfire and smoke across roadway beginning at 1:21 pm on Sept. 9, 2022 until further notice. Use an alternate route and expect delays.
— WSDOT SW (@wsdot_sw) September 9, 2022
Drivers should use alternate routes and expect delays in the area.
The U.S. Forest Service said the wildfire was started by a lightning strike. Because of the conditions, action toward controlling the fire has been limited.
“Another thing that was playing an impact on us is that with how high the winds were, a lot of our helicopters weren’t able to really get access to those lakes and ponds that they could normally dip out of,” said Adam Turner, the public information officer for the Goat Rocks Fire.
“Because the winds were so high, that if they were to drop into those areas, that … you talk about helicopter crashes and suddenly, things can go wrong,” Turner said.
While it is a scary situation, many are happy with the response by emergency crews.
“I’m impressed with how efficient they are about everything,” one resident told KIRO 7.
“The more fires that are out there, the less resources that are available. Anything that people can do to help lower the number of starts is always important,” Turner said.
Those who are at White Pass School will be fed by the Salvation Army, including first responders.
All counties in Washington are currently under some form of burn ban, with windy conditions and warm weather raising fire concerns.
Follow this link to read additional stories from KIRO
