Pierce County Wildfires Force Evacuations, Road Closures, Outages

BONNEY LAKE, WA — Wildfires burning across Pierce County caused numerous problems Tuesday, forcing evacuations and well as road and school closures.

Update: this page has been updated only through the end of Tuesday, for the most current updates on the wildfires burning in Pierce County follow this link.

Officials say firefighters are still battling a resurgence of the brush fire which closed State Route 167 Monday night, but that's not the only fire crews are tacking in the area, and as a result several zones have been evacuated in Bonney Lake and Graham.

The latest, announced around 1 a.m. Wednesday, is a Level 3 Evacuation Alert for a large swath of land in Boney Lake. A level 3 alert means residents should be evacuating as quickly as possible.

Several other neighborhoods in the Bonney Lake area remain evacuated as well, including homes on:

• Myers Road from 70th St E to 81st St E
• Myers Road between 76th St E and State Route 410
• Between Myers Road & 182nd Ave E
• 64th St E from Myers to 188th Ave E

Fortunately for homeowners, Pierce County Deputies say so far there has been no sign of any homes damaged in the immediate area.

Not every fire has been as cooperative— another large fire in Graham caused quite a bit of damage earlier in the day. Drone footage above the area shows what appears to be the smoldering husks of several buildings burned by a fast-spreading wildfire. Firefighters say that the blaze burned at least 100 acres of land, and while there are still some remaining hotspots, the fire is largely under control.

Finally, the Winco complex on 166th Ave E in Sumner was evacuated Tuesday morning, that evacuation was lifted around 3 p.m. and then reinstated just before 7 p.m. Otherwise, no other evacuations have been announced, though experts say it will not hurt for residents to be vigilant and prepared to leave if the situation deteriorates.

Firefighters say all residents whose homes are under evacuation should have been contacted by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, but anyone who is unsure if their neighborhood is under evacuation can call the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management at (253) 798-1571. Resources are also available for those who need a place to stay as a result of the fire.

That fire and several others have also forced a number of roads to close across Pierce County. State Route 167 has been closed at the intersection with the 410, at the epicenter where the brush fire sparked up Monday.

Around noon Tuesday, a second brush fire has sparked up at the intersection of SR 167 and 24th Street E in Sumner, prompting officials to close 167's right lane to traffic. That fire was cleared around 3 p.m., only for another fire to spark up nearby at the intersection of 96th and McCutcheon.

State route 410 is closed in both directions between 166th Ave. East in Sumner and 181st Ave. East/Veterans Memorial Drive in Bonney Lake. WSDOT says commuters who need to pass through the area should instead take a detour over SR 165 and SR 162.

The 410 has also been closed at milepost 32 just east of Enumclaw, where crews are battling a separate, smaller fire. Troopers say to expect that stretch of road to be closed for at least a day or two, and are advising nearby residents to become familiar with alternate routes through the area surrounding SE Mud Mtn.

Update: just before 1 p.m. Central Pierce Fire and Rescue reported another large brush fire in the Lakewood area, at the intersection of SR 512 and I-5. The northbound off ramp from I-5 to westbound 512 has been closed to make space for first responders.

Around 3 p.m. Tuesday the DOT announced that a fire along US 2 outside Davenport had been contained and the road reopened, but six full highway closures remain.

All road closures are expected to last until further notice. In the meantime, Washington State Patrol Troopers are asking drivers to avoid these areas to allow crews better access to the fire.

Elsewhere, in Puyallup, downed power lines have closed 23rd Avenue SE from 26th to Shaw, and 27th Avenue SE from 36th to Rodesco.

Related: Wildfire Smoke Settles Over Puget Sound: Air Quality Forecast

Those aren't the only downed power lines as the fires have caused widespread outages across Pierce County. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Puget Sound Energy says they're battling a total of 355 power outages, which have left 48,000 customers without power.

That's a significant improvement from earlier in the day, when outages had left as many as 86,000 homes in the dark.

More specifics on each outage can be found on Puget Sound Energy's outage map. As a result of all the outages, classes have been cancelled for the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District, and the Puyallup School District. Sumner also cancelled their Tuesday night City Council meeting due to the fires.

Anyone who sees a downed power line should report it by calling PSE or 911. Downed trees and debris covering roadways can be reported at piercecountywa.gov/rfa.

Meanwhile, experts are asking everyone to be careful and avoid sparking up even more wildfires. Tuesday afternoon the Pierce County Fire Marshall announced new, tighter restrictions on outdoor burning across the county, including bans on all outdoor burning except for gas grills. In addition, a Red Flag Warning has been issued through Thursday for most of western Washington, and forecasters expect air quality to remain poor as smoke continues to blow in through eastern Washington.

These wildfires are still active and conditions are expected to change. The latest updates on the fire can be found here.