SEATTLE—
Dry weather, smoking heat, and careless mistakes are igniting dangers all over Western Washington. Crews have been busy battling this brush fire near Jetty Island in Everett."There's nothing to stop it here," says Kent Fire Captain Kyle Ohashi. Walking through a dry school yard, he says since May 15th, they've gotten 49, nearly quadruple the number of ground fires compared to this time last year.
"You can hear it just crunching and it's not going to get any better of the next 2 or three months," says Capt. Ohashi.
It's gotten so bad the National Weather Service has put out a red flag warning for Seattle meaning fire dangers are everywhere and just about anything could set it off.
"It's not just fireworks that start fires, it's discarded cigarettes, kids playing with matches, the sparks flying up from chains dragging under trucks, and more,' he says.
Big streaks of black stain the embankment off I-5 and Boeing Field from a brush fire triggered by a car fire a couple of weeks ago.
On Thursday, something else sparked another brush fire in the same area. Less than an hour later, flames torched large patch off Cedar River Trail in Maple Valley.
"It was probably just kids who don't realize what can happen," say Rob Schrener who was bicycling by.
Firefighters say it was the second in the area that day.
'It's really dry right now and it's expected to happen,' says Schrener, "I really wouldn't be surprised if it was started by fireworks."
"The front lawn is so dry," said one resident nearby, "water is all in the pool!"
Folks everywhere are getting ready for the holiday weekend by with BBQ's, lawn clearing and getting ready for the fireworks shows. It's should be a fun weekend, but with the weather this dry, the dangers all around us are very high.
"If those fireworks or some spark lands on dry ground we're talking about more brush fires,' says Capt. Ohashi, "but if it lands on a roof it could easily burn entire house down."
