Brush fire blackens land near Yacolt

Local and state firefighters also were busy with another fire, off W.H. Garner Road near the town of Yacolt, that burned about an acre as of Wednesday afternoon.

The fire, dubbed the Mystic Drive Fire, was reported as mostly knocked down by 6:30 p.m., but firefighters were still on scene.

Doreen Smith, a dispatcher with the state Department of Natural Resources, said firefighters would likely be on scene into the evening to secure control lines around the fire.

The fire was reported earlier Wednesday afternoon burning along Mystic Drive, a small road south of W.H. Garner Road and less than a mile southwest of Yacolt.

Although relatively small, the fire reportedly put up ample smoke, Smith said.

The fire apparently started in some slash and brush, and spread over at least three-quarters of an acre. There are buildings within 150 feet of the fire, but no damage to them has been reported, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.

Local and DNR firefighters established a “wet line” around the fire using water trucked to the scene. A swimming pool at one of the nearby homes may also have been tapped, according to radio traffic.

Fire conditions were extreme Wednesday afternoon. The high in Vancouver reached 97 degrees, and gusty winds picked up later in the day.