News / Clark County News

Jenny Creek Road Fire evacuation zones rolling back as crews get handle on fireFree

Green Level 1 and Yellow Level 2 are clear to return home with caution; Red Level 3 is still not clear

By Mark Bowder, Columbian Metro Editor

Published: August 16, 2023, 10:20pm

Smoke rises from a fire in a rural area near Northeast Jenny Creek Road on Wednesday afternoon. The fire began with a house fire that spread to nearby brush, prompting an evacuation of residences within a mile of the fire. (Photo contributed by Nick Gelman)

Officials with the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency announced at 9:45 p.m. that fire crews battling the Jenny Creek Road Fire north of La Center had contained the blaze enough to allow residents of the Green Level 1 and Yellow Level 2 evacuation zones to return home with caution.

The announcement stressed that areas within Red Level 3 are still not clear and the evacuation orders stand.

The blaze started with a house fire in a rural area north of La Center that spread to surrounding brush, prompting fire officials to call for evacuations that reached into the city itself.

Dispatchers with Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency were initially using a reverse 911 system to reach residences about a Level 3 GO NOW evacuation zone within a half-mile of the fire in the hilly wooded area.

The map was revised later Wednesday evening to create a Level 1 BE READY zone as well as a Level 2 GET SET zone around the fire.

A dynamically updated version of the evacuation map is available at https://rb.gy/hiegf. Additional fire updates are available at www.cresa911.org

An evacuation assembly area for impacted residents is being set up at the Ilani Casino RV parking area. The CRESA EOC call center is open until 11:00 PM and can take questions pertaining to evacuations, mapping, animal assistance, sheltering, and more at 360-992-9229.

The fire was reported at 3:38 p.m. at a residence in the 37000 block of Northeast Jenny Creek Road, according to emergency dispatch records. Crews arriving found a house on fire that had spread to nearby trees and kindled a number of spot fires in the area, according to emergency radio traffic.

As of about 4:30 p.m. a helicopter overflight estimated the fire area at approximately 3 acres. Helicopters were also used for water drops on hot spots.

It was unknown as of just before 6 p.m. if any other structures were damaged.

Firefighters called for additional units, including brush rigs, water tenders, a hand crew from Larch Corrections Center and water-dropping helicopters to address the spot fires as they continued to spread. Additional fire engines were requested early Wednesday evening.

Crews were receiving support from the Washington Department of Natural Resources, as well as fire departments in Cowlitz County and as far away as Vancouver.

The Jenny Creek Road fire started with a house fire in a rural area north of La Center that spread to surrounding brush, prompting fire officials to call for evacuations that reached into the city itself. by Amy

Mark Bowder

Columbian Metro Editor

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