SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Fire crews throughout western Washington had a busy Fourth of July, responding to dozens of brush fires in the last 24 hours.
East Pierce Fire & Rescue crews responded to 82 emergency calls from 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 4 to 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 5.
Of those calls, 39 were for brush fires, two for house fires, and one for an apartment fire.
East Pierce Fire typically responds to an average of 34 calls per day.
Crews were dispatched to the apartment fire in Sumner around 2 a.m. with reports of someone trapped inside. Crews arrived to find the second story of the four-unit building on fire.
One occupant jumped from the second story to escape the fire and was transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
No other injuries were reported. Four families were displaced and the upper two units were destroyed.
"Yesterday was definitely one I would say that will go into our record books for responses on a Fourth of July,” said Assistant Chief Jeff Moore with East Pierce Fire & Rescue.
"Usually, between June 1 and September 30, when temperatures start to increase, humidity from time-to-time drops you get these gusts of wind. I mean they are perfect storms for wildland fires and brush fires,” Moore continued.
He said that's why he encourages people to have a protective perimeter of 100 feet around their homes.
"You always want to have like the pine needles, the brush, any flammable liquids, anything that would burn those kind of things definitely need to be taken care of,” said Moore. "Prevention goes a long way."
Someone who lives next door said the flames from the fire were "four times higher" than nearby trees.
Danielle said she was shocked to see a fire so large, but then she started thinking about saving what she could, because her home could’ve been next.
“We have these two trees right here, so if this tree would’ve caught, it would’ve jumped to the other tree right away and burned down our house,” Danielle said. “So in that very moment, I thought, oh my God, what am I going to take? And I just grabbed my animals and put them in a cage.”
But as traumatizing as the night was, she also remembers her neighbor, who stepped in to save her community.
“She ran over when the fire started and banged on all of the doors and woke them up,” she recalled. “Nobody was awake, and she is like a hero. The whole place was on fire. She still went to bang on every door until they got out.”
Snohomish Regional Fire responds to 90 calls
Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue responded to approximately 90 calls between three of its battalions. That included damage to at least three structures.
Around 11:30 p.m. in Lake Stevens, a brush fire spread to a house with a family sleeping inside. They were awakened by people yelling. Fire and smoke extended into the house and attic before it was extinguished.
Shortly after that fire, crews were sent to another area of Lake Stevens for reports of a garbage can on fire next to a house. The fire was burning the side of the house. It was determined it was started by spent fireworks.
Around 12:30 a.m. in Lake Stevens, Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue crews were sent to a garage fire in the 2400 block of 108th Avenue SE. Crews found smoke and fire coming from the garage. A golf cart was damaged before the fire was under control.