BRINNON, Wash. — A fast-moving structure fire in Jefferson County prompted urgent evacuation orders Tuesday afternoon for residents and visitors in the Brinnon area on the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula, authorities said. Authorities permitted residents to return home by 8 p.m., and the fire was fully extinguished by Wednesday.
The fire began in the 100 block of Belgian Drive and spread to a second home on Arabian Drive, as well as nearby brush, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies are assisting with door-to-door evacuation notices, traffic control, and deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor fire activity.
By 3 p.m., the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management issued Level 3 evacuation orders for multiple streets, including Belgian Drive, Morocco Place, Rock Brook Road, Arabian Drive, and Shetland Lane. The evacuation zone was later expanded to include the north side of Dosewallips Road from Rocky Brook Road to approximately milepost 2. All those orders were later reduced to Level 1.
The estimated 10-acre fire prompted the mobilization of state-level fire fighters and resources by Tuesday evening. The Red Cross supported an evacuation shelter established at the Brinnon Community Center.
Emergency officials warned residents to avoid the area and comply with evacuation orders. A no-fly zone for drones is in effect as aircraft respond to assist in suppression efforts, expected to arrive around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Residents are advised to monitor Jefferson County DEM Nixle alerts for updates.
The Department of Natural Resources lists one other active fire on the Olympic Peninsula: the Bear Gulch fire near Lake Cushman. The latest update as of Tuesday afternoon listed the size of the fire at 327 acres. No evacuation orders were in effect as of Sunday, according to the most-recent information provided by the Forest Service.
Elsewhere on the peninsula, the National Weather Service's emergency alert system was scheduled to be temporarily down across the region on Wednesday and Thursday as the agency upgrades its radio equipment. As technicians work on the project, the Olympic Peninsula will be subject to reduced emergency alert notification performance.