Fire in Fauntleroy Park, ‘not a campfire’

(WSB photo)

Thanks for the tips about a Seattle Fire response on the Arbor Heights side of Fauntleroy Park this morning. Tom Trulin sent the photo below, taken by Karen, showing firefighters at the scene in the park:

We asked SFD about the park fire; spokesperson Kristin Hanson says, “This was a brush fire that encompassed an area of approximately 10 ft x 10 ft. The cause was undetermined.” Meantime, Lynne emailed us to say she was the person who discovered and reported the fire:

I stumbled upon a small fire in Fauntleroy Woods at 8:20 this morning while walking my dog. I was worried about approaching it, fearing an aggressive person, but I couldn’t leave it to burn. After calling out several times, I realized no one was nearby. It was burning just off a less used trail at the base of a big pine tree. A fern and brush were in flames. I tried putting it out with the only thing I had, dirt filled with pine needles, which worked as well as you’d think, snuffled with flames popping up again. I got most of the flames out by stomping on it and pulling branches away, but flames kept appearing and there were too many sparks that would easily reignite. I had already called 911 and struggled through giving them a location. Address unknown and deep in the park, it was hard to figure out what to tell them. I ran up the hill as I heard sirens approaching and ran into my friend as I watched the fire truck go down the wrong road. He chased them down and fortunately we got them to the right location. They put out the obvious fire and sparks and came back up for more water while a second truck showed up. They were still there when I left. Neighbors came and told me this is the 2nd or 3rd fire recently in the woods at the base of big trees. There was talk of possibly an arsonist. This fire was not a campfire. There was no reason for a fire being there or natural causes. Definitely looked human induced for no reason. Makes me nervous about our beloved woods.

SFD did not send its investigator but Hanson is checking whether they’ve been tracking any trends in the area. Fauntleroy Park has multiple potential addresses, so it’s hard to search a log for previous calls, but we did get email on August 19th from an area resident who discovered evidence of a then-recent small fire that “looked like a box was burned, on a main trail.”

Rhonda September 12, 2023 (11:50 am)

Thank you, Lynne, for fighting the fire, calling 911, and directing SFD to the right location.

TM September 12, 2023 (3:28 pm)

Agreed, great work. Hats off to you, that was a big save! Must have been spicy in the moment.

Christopher B. September 12, 2023 (2:09 pm)

Just a reminder to folks who own an iPhone, there is a compass app built into iOS on every late model phone that will give you your exact coordinates and elevation. So if all else fails when you are having trouble giving 911 a location, while in an urban, wooded area (or even on a highway in which you’re not sure which exits you’re between or can’t see any mile markers), that is a potential backup to let responders know where you are.

LJJ September 12, 2023 (2:40 pm)

Thank you for this!
HS September 12, 2023 (3:24 pm)

Wow! Great advice Christoper B. That app is sitting, unused, on my phone and I would have never thought to use it. And a huge THANK YOU to Lynne for staying, reporting and doing what you could in the interim.
Lynne September 12, 2023 (3:33 pm)

Good to know! Though I was so stressed out trying to keep that fire from spreading that I doubt I could have found my compass. The 911 operator helped by telling the fire chief to look up Fauntleroy Woods park.

Fauntleroy Neighbor September 12, 2023 (4:32 pm)

On September 10, 2022 there was a fire in Fauntleroy park that sounds very similar to this one. It was directly behind our house on California Ave SW near where the park meets the Fauntleroy Church property. We called 911 and firefighters responded, saying there had been other fires in the park recently then. It was scary. We thought we were going to have to evacuate ourselves and our neighbors.

Another Neighbor September 12, 2023 (5:38 pm)

Definitely think there is someone who has been targeting this area for a while. Last summer I found a pile of burned clothes in the woods near the public stairs that connect California Ave to California Drive. A week after that, the wooden hand rail was singed, like someone had tried to set it on fire.

A local September 12, 2023 (6:51 pm)

Doubt any of these are arson. More likely someone carelessly tossing a lit cigarette into brush or kids messing around with fireworks or lighters. Its been very dry here the past few months. I grew up 100 miles east where its a mountain desert.And over there fires in parks, along roads and in the desert were constantly being started by people just dropping lit cigarettes instead of putting them out. Never attribute malice where ignorance and carelessness is a more likely answer.

Park fires September 12, 2023 (8:18 pm)

Someone is having small morning fires in Schmitz Park. I can smell it when I walk through but am never able to see smoke. I think it is from camping in there.

Monica C September 12, 2023 (10:07 pm)

I was walking in the park roughly, 2 months ago and noticed a burn scar at the base of a tree 2/3 up the trail. Should have reported it then! Thank you for reporting it.

Sorry, comment time is over.