A small number of Thurston County firefighters were recently deployed to Eastern Washington to help state and local agencies there with the worsening wildfire season.
Two crewmembers from Southeast Thurston Fire Authority and four from South Thurston Fire and EMS were dispatched earlier early last week separately to the eastside and were setting up to assist with the Palmer Lake fire burning near the Canadian border in Okanogan County.
The wildfire at Palmer Lake has grown to 6,000 acres and was 0 percent contained upon their arrival last week, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
South Thurston Fire Chief Andrew Schaffran said two vehicles, Brush 41 and Tender 41, were dispatched with four crewmembers the evening of Sunday, Aug. 16, to Badger Lake.
According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, the crew was assigned to a night shift on the lake and was largely in good spirits.