KINGSTON — No injuries or structure damage happened in a brush fire in Kingston July 25.
The fire started at a home off of NE Highway 104 near the Burkes Lane intersection that afternoon. According to a press release from North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, about 1,000 square feet of grass was burned, trees were scored and a season’s worth of firewood was consumed in the brush fire, which is thought to have been started from coals dumped from a smoker.
NKF&R and Poulsbo Fire Department crews responded to the call. The first unit arrived in about four minutes, and found no buildings involved. PFD crews were returned to Poulsbo when officers decided NKF&R had enough crew members and equipment to handle the fire burning across a 20-foot-by-50-foot area of the yard.
According to the press release, the fire’s spread was stopped with the 500 gallons of water from one tank, but “firefighters spent an additional 90 minutes digging” and using more water to “fully extinguish” the fire.
The property owner told firefighters that he’d removed coals from a smoker earlier in the day, according to the press release, “after running his hands through the coals to verify that they were cold,” he dumped them on a pile of yard clippings.
Neighbors alerted the owner to a fire hours later.
“NKF&R firefighters … note that coal-sparked fires aren’t uncommon,” said the press release. “Even if the contents of a barbeque, woodstove, fireplace or smoker feel cool to the touch, firefighters say that the core of the coals can retain enough heat to spark a fire for as long as a week.
“To avoid this type of fire, officials recommend disposing of coals in a water-filled metal can with a tight-fitting lid.”
There has been intermittent rain in the area, but the burn ban is in place due to fires like these.
The press release said, “The blaze didn’t appear to have originated with a banned fire, but it illustrates well the continued tinder-dry conditions.”
Michele Laboda, public relations officer with NKF&R, said, “It took a long time for fire danger to get this high. And it will take a lot of rain to bring it back to safe levels again.”
For more information about the burn ban, visit www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/fire/docs/fm-burnban.htm.
