Parkland home destroyed by brush fire, wind and dry conditions helped fuel it
Dry, windy weather fueled flames in destructive brush fire in Parkland
The fire happened Tuesday afternoon along Brookdale Road East. During the investigation, fire agencies across the region were worried the dry weather conditions for the next several days could pose similar risks in other communities.
PARKLAND, Wash. - Pierce County Fire Marshals continued their search for what caused a roaring brush fire that destroyed a home in Parkland and threatened several others.
The fire happened Tuesday afternoon along Brookdale Road East. During the investigation, fire agencies across the region were worried the dry weather conditions for the next several days could pose similar risks in other communities.
One home was completely damaged in the fire.
"Wow, the view is different. And it’s a devastating view right now," said a neighbor who lived across the street from the burn scar.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said the home was a rental. The people living there were out of the home at the time of the fire and were unharmed.
Neighbors were still shaken up the day after the large flames burned through the area. Officials said the fire sparked outside a property near the 3900 block of Brookdale Road East.
"The end of our cul-de-sac was burning. Everything was on fire. You could feel the heat," said one woman who was home with her six-week-old infant when the fire started. "A few of us grabbed hoses, trying to bang on the neighbor’s doors to get them to come out."
Central Pierce Fire and Rescue said the high winds pushed the flames to the other side of the road and blazed up the hill, destroying the house and everything in the fire’s path.
Battalion Chief Ray Escobedo said the fire was the devastating result of a small spark paired with hot, dry and windy weather conditions.
"Once the conditions are dry and the wind is there, it just takes a little spark," said Escobedo.
"It burned so fast, I mean the trees were just catching and catching. And then they got it under control and then it would back because of the wind. And so it was a back and forth," said the mother with her newborn baby.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
With the hot, dry and windy conditions lingering for the next several days, Escobedo said his team worried it possibly would not be their last brush fire in the city.
"It’s always a concern. We have high-density population that is always under threat when we have this type of weather," said Escobedo.
Fire agencies across the region had similar concerns about the weather. Escobedo said his team would continue monitoring the humidity and wind levels, standing by for the risk of another big fire.
He urged the public to help firefighters reduce the threat by obeying the active burn ban in Pierce County.
"Please just think about the consequences of where you’re at," said Escobedo. "If the conditions say one to two miles per hour, or one to seven with gusts of 19, that’s just concerning to us, especially in the afternoon time when the winds tend to kick up."
The current burn ban in Pierce County states the use of fire pits and barbeque grills is ok. Land clearing and burning of any debris or yard waste is not allowed.