Community Police & Fire

Highway 16 brush fire burns Rotary plantings

A brush fire Thursday evening between westbound Highway 16 and the Wollochet Drive onramp burned trees and shrubs that the Gig Harbor Rotary Club planted last winter.

During the peak of rush hour, at 4:27 p.m., Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One was sent to a vegetation fire. Three engines, a water tender and a battalion chief responded, said department spokeswoman Tina Curran. Firefighters battled the 3/4-acre blaze until 6:10 p.m.

A brush fire burns Thursday between Highway 16 and the Wollochet Drive ramp.

“They got it under control very quickly, but they did end up staying there mopping up and making sure all the hot sports were pretty wet,” she said.

The fire occurred when a trailer carrying a boat malfunctioned and created sparks or heat as it approached the highway, Curran said.

On Feb. 4, a band of Rotarians sowed 172 trees and shrubs in the 3-acre field ringed by the onramp to beautify the city entrance and attract birds and pollinators. Though the native plants were chosen in part for their ability to survive without irrigation, club members had been hand-watering them every three weeks during the unusually dry summer. They were growing well.

Fire was a gut punch

The fire was a gut punch, said project leaders Gary and Chris Pellett, who surveyed the damages Friday.

“Some of our stuff is alive, some is definitely dead and some is singed and might recover and we won’t know until it does,” Chris Pellett said. “Time will tell. We’re guessing we had a 40% loss of what we planted.”

Gary Pellett, left, and Geoff Barcalow dig plant holes Jan. 21 with a power auger.

It’s too soon to determine how the Rotary will react.

“I guess it’s up to our Rotary Club what we want to do,” Chris Pellett said. “I guess everybody, like us, will kind of have to digest the news and how we feel about it and what we see in the future. Does everybody feel the enthusiasm to replant what we lost? I think it will take a little time for everybody to process this and how we move forward.”

Rotary member Todd Meyer, who coincidentally is the fire department’s assistant chief of operations, recently weed-whacked around the plants.

Weed-whacking saved plants

“That probably saved a lot of plants,” said Chris Pellett, who thanked the fire department for acting quickly. “By the time it got into the plants, there wasn’t a lot of fuel. You can really see that it didn’t burn as hot up there as down in the grass and brush that were really high.”

Another planting was planned for November.

“There’s a lot of people really sad about it,” said Chris Pellett. “We have to find our way forward. Do they want to continue? Do they feel like this isn’t going to pan out? It’s going to take some time to think about it.”

“And pray for rain,” Gary Pellett added.