INDIANOLA — A group of teens or young adults fled the scene on foot after making a futile attempt to squelch a spreading fire in driftwood logs along a beach belonging to the Suquamish Tribe and situated just east of Camp Indianola May 29. Firefighters were able to stop the flames before they could spread into tough-to-reach areas of the large slough area that evening.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue (NKF&R) crews were dispatched just before 8 p.m. Monday after bystanders noticed the activity and spreading fire, and called 911. The first unit on the scene found flames covering 60 square feet of dry driftwood. Luckily, the fire’s site was readily accessible in a part of NKF&R’s fire district that can be difficult to reach and crews made short work of fully extinguishing the small blaze. Had the fire traveled further into the far reaches of the slough, firefighters would have found it challenging to stop its progress.

Firefighters say that the bonfire had been built in the middle of the highly-combustible driftwood and apparently spread quickly beyond its original area. With wildfires already popping up across the western United States and beyond to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it’s already shaping up to be a tough fire season. Officials urge the public to use caution and common sense with fire to prevent similar problems here.

The persons who likely built the fire had left the area before firefighters’ arrival.