On Wednesday, August 16th at approximately 12:50 p.m., West Pierce Fire & Rescue firefighters were dispatched to a brush fire at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. Crews arrived to find a fast-moving grass fire near Waughop Lake in Lakewood. Due to the size of the brush fire and how quickly it was moving, it elevated to a second and then a third alarm fire.
The City of Lakewood and the Lakewood Police Department alerted residents to evacuate if they were within a half-mile radius of the fire. Multiple reverse 9-1-1 calls and door-to-door notifications were made to alert impacted residents. These evacuations were voluntary and were lifted at approximately 5:00 p.m.
To sign up for CodeRED notifications, please visit our Emergency Alerts page if you live or work in Lakewood, University Place and/or Steilacoom. CodeRED alerts are used in addition to social media platforms and news media interviews during incidents of this magnitude. Please consider following us on social media and signing up for CodeRED alerts to stay as updated as possible.
We want to thank the community for their support and patience during this very dynamic incident.
I am pleased that this incident went as well as it did. Kudos to the fire workers and their efforts in stopping the fires.
However, it was discouraging to hear that those who were told to evacuate their homes/apartments were not told where to go or how to get to shelter. Some of them were possibly in wheelchairs, use walkers, even bed-ridden. This is an issue that needs addressing.