Helicopters to the rescue for Fort Steilacoom Park fire – The Suburban Times

The Suburban Times

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Helicopters to the rescue for Fort Steilacoom Park fire

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Lakewood’s Tom McClellan shared these photos showing a UH-60 and a U.S. Forest Service UH-1 using Lake Louise as a water source to fight the brush fire in Fort Steilacoom Park on August 16. The evacuation order was lifted around 5 pm.

U.S. Forest Service Bell UH-1. Photo by Tom McClellan.
UH-60. Photo by Tom McClellan.
UH-1 and UH-60 performing an aerial dance. Photo by Tom McClellan.
Lakewood Police Department photo of the burned out field south of Waughop Lake in Fort Steilacoom.

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  1. Thanks for sharing the photos of these aircraft. Lucky they were able to get on scene so quickly.

    Glad this fire did not happen Monday with the 18mph winds that afternoon. It could have been a much worse outcome.

  2. Thankful no homes damaged and no injuries that I know of. I can’t imagine being a firefighter working this fire AND dressed in their turnouts in 90+ heat! Great job to ALL our first responders; THANK YOU!! BTW, the Emergency notification system worked great, and WPierce Fire on twitter with updates and a graphic of the EVAC zone in real time could have been lifesaving if the fire got out of control. The system worked! Congratulations to everyone who made that happen. I’m grateful.

  3. It was 100° heat. The fire department and the helicopters worked extremely well. Quickly and efficiently to stop any further spreading and keeping our homes, pets, and residents safe. Thank you for working so well.
    I had no worry i knew you would succeed.
    It’s a bright, new day!

  4. My understanding was the Helicopter was from the Department of Natural Resources, which is a different agency than the US Forest Service.

    Either way , Thank you to the Men and Women of the Local fire departments .

    • According to the state DNR website, “DNR is Washington state’s wildfire fighting force, with more than 1,300 employees trained and available to fight fires as needed. This includes more than 800 permanent DNR employees, 550 seasonal employees, about 120 wildland fire engines, nine helicopters and six single engine air tankers, which are under contract with DNR.” A search of the Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registry for N343WN reports “USDA FOREST SERVICE FEPP” as the owner. Either way, like you, I am glad they showed up. Ben Sclair, Publisher

  5. My thanks for the emergency notification. My suggestion, though, would be for the caller ID to show up as something other than an unknown number. Perhaps it might be a notice from West Pierce Fire Department or Emergency response. Like at least a few others, I am reluctant to accept calls from unrecognized numbers. Thanks.

  6. Thank you West Pierce Fire Department and other agencies who put a quick end to the fire! The notification system was super helpful as well!
    Grateful citizen here!

  7. MANY THANX to all of the many professionals who showed up to save our neighborhoods….very impressive to see all of the fire folk who showed up from all around Lakewood.

    Again….OUR GRATITUDE TO ALL IS IMMENSE !!