Wildfire north of Washougal 100% contained

Fire crews managed to completely contain a 10-acre wildfire burning debris from a recent timber harvest north of Washougal Friday morning.

First word of the situation came around 1 p.m. Thursday when a report came in that a fire had broken out southwest of the Jones Creek ATV Trailhead in the Yacolt Burn State Forest area. The logging area belongs to the state Department of Natural Resources, which is leading the containment effort.

Three fire engines and two large hand crews headed out to the scene Friday morning. In all, about 35 people were on hand, said Chuck Turley, the assistant region manager for the agency’s Pacific Cascade Region office.

The crews made significant progress around the perimeter of the blaze since Thursday afternoon, Turley said. That evening, they used a bulldozer to dig a trail around the fire, looking to stop it from spreading.

About 30 inmates from Larch Corrections Center and East County Fire & Rescue stepped in to help. An investigator also showed up to search for the cause of the fire.

“It’ll probably take us another day tomorrow to mop things up,” Turley said.

So far, there have been no reports of injuries or structural damages from the fire.

Turley stressed that while it’s still dry and warm, people need to exercise great caution in the woods, especially as the state heads into what will likely be an exceptionally busy fire season.