BRINNON, Wash. — Hundreds of firefighters are in the depths of the Olympic Peninsula battling a fire on Mount Jupiter, just west of the small town of Brinnon in Jefferson County.
There's no such things as days off when you're the fire chief.
"There was fire behavior that I've never seen before,” said Brinnon Fire Department Chief Tim Manly. “With the 30 mile an hour winds that were hitting that mountain side, it actually turned the nighttime sky orange with that cloud cover above it."
Manly has been the fire chief of the small town of Brinnon since 2016. He and now more than 400 firefighters from around the state and country are doing what they can to contain the fire, also known as the 2620 Road Fire, that ignited just west of town last week.
"A lot of this is not accessible and has to be entered with hand crews, literally climbing up steep terrains,” said Manly. “The logs that are up there, the snags are very, very dangerous."
Nearly 400 acres have burned, with only about 8% of the fire contained. Fire crews have dealt with Mother Nature at full force. Lightening over the weekend struck two sites that fire crews are monitoring as of Tuesday.
“The rain has been helpful in some cases but then the wind kicks up right behind it,” said Manly. “So, two steps forward one step back and it's been very challenging."
Manly said at least 30 homes are under a Level 2 evacuation, which means residents need to "be prepared," with a voluntary evacuation in place.
Residents KING 5 spoke with aren't leaving but are prepared to help.
"This town is small, but mighty,” said Michelle Matheson, the owner of Halfway House Restaurant. “We have just the biggest hearts."
And it shows, Matheson and her staff have been feeding the hundreds of firefighters that are fighting for this mighty town.
"The fire department and all the crews, I feel, are taking great care of us,” said Matheson. “So, everyone really wants to take care of them."
Chief Manly and these fire crews said they will continue to take care of this town until the end.
“The end being this is all done, and everybody goes home safely. Everybody goes home,” said Manly.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.