Man from Suquamish airlifted for fireworks injury as Fourth of July keeps firefighters busy
A hot and dry Fourth of July kept firefighters throughout Kitsap County busy as they snuffed out fires small and large. And a group of firefighters from Kitsap traveled to Mason County to assist in the response to a large wildfire near Shelton that prompted officials to advise those in a swath of homes to evacuate.
A strike team of Kitsap firefighters from Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, the Poulsbo Fire Department and North Kitsap Fire and Rescue assisted in the response to the fire near Shelton.
The McEwan Fire, burning northeast of Shelton, started Tuesday at about 2 p.m. and has burned about 250 acres in industrial timber and private land, Central Mason Fire and EMS said. Public information officer Norma Brock said Wednesday that resources from around the state were being drawn to the area to work on the blaze. The fire was considered to be 0% contained but was being managed within fire lines Wednesday afternoon.
Hot, dry weather and winds on Tuesday caused some concern for officials, and the Mason County Sheriff's Office set up evacuation zones for neighborhoods near the fire. Those in two areas were placed in a "be ready" status, while those in about 200 homes were told to leave immediately, Brock said. Those with homes in the immediate evacuation areas have since been alerted that they could return but were to be ready to leave "at a moment's notice," she said.
It was not immediately clear how the fire started: “It’s under investigation and will be for quite some time,” Brock said.
In an incident in Suquamish, a 23-year-old man was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment after he was struck in the face by a mortar firework that exploded at close range, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue said. The man was injured after the firework had a delayed ignition, agency public information officer Michèle Laboda said.
Just after 1 a.m. on Wednesday, North Kitsap firefighters were also called to a reported structure fire off Orca Drive near Indianola. Firefighters found a dumpster on fire with flames spreading to a concession and restroom building at Indianola Park, and they put out the blaze. The Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire was likely an accident caused by improper disposal of spent fireworks, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue said.
Firefighters responded to a blaze at a home off Peacock Hill Road near Olalla at about 4 p.m. Tuesday after a homeowner arrived and found a fire outside the residence, said Captain Laine Desilets with South Kitsap Fire and Rescue. Initially they were dispatched to a brush fire, and when they arrived, they found flames coming through the roof of the residence, she said. The homeowner suffered an injury from the fire, Desilets said.
Part of the structure collapsed as crews fought the blaze, and the home was potentially a total loss, Desilets said.
Remarkably, a cat named Remy was found in the residence, still alive, two hours after the fire began. Remy was taken to an emergency veterinarian and was expected to make a full recovery, Desilets said.
Crews also responded Tuesday evening to a brush fire off Sunnyslope Road in South Kitsap, south of Bremerton National Airport, which reached about six acres in size, Desilets said.
Central Kitsap firefighters responded to a fire south of Bangor, off Olympic View Court, on a waterfront hillside along Hood Canal. A small landslide occurred, which hampered response efforts, Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue said. Central Kitsap crews also attended to a fire off Lewis Road near Tahuya.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Kitsap firefighters help respond to McEwan Fire in Washington
