f a brush fire that consumed three and half acres of private and public lands and came to within 300 feet of Miriam Ziegler and Tom Baldwin’s residence on June 10, according to San Juan County Fire Marshal Rob Low.

No one was injured in the fire at 25 Bobby Ann Road, off of Crow Valley Rd. and near West Sound, except for minor injuries to firefighters, and no property was damaged. The fire was contained after five hours.

The burn pile was on a neighbor’s property below the Baldwins’ home.

A permit for it was taken out by Billy Bosone in March of 2009, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Paul Turner. The man tending to the pile first alerted Orcas Island Fire and Rescue when sparks from the fire ignited dry brush and spread out of his control just before 3 p.m.

Fire Lieutenant Jeff Jones was the first to respond and found the fire had extended 600 feet from the original burn pile and was rapidly spreading with flame lengths of up to 12 feet. Trees were being torched and tall grass and blackberry bushes were consumed by flames.

Fire fighters from San Juan Island, Lopez Island and the Town of Friday Harbor who were quickly transported by the Sheriff’s boat to Orcas assisted four rescue vehicles and 32 Orcas fire department members.

The fire was brought under control with the help of a quickly cut firebreak that was made possible by the use of Earthworks owner John Thompson’s bulldozer. The firebreak kept the fire from expanding into the heavy brush and towards the Turtleback Mountain Preservation area.

Although the burn pile had been issued a valid burn permit, prohibited materials, including fiberglass, contributed to the fire spread. The lack of adequate water supply on the site further exacerbated the loss of control.

If the landowner responsible for the fire permit is found to be negligent, the cost of expressing the fire will be charged to them by the Department of Natural Resources according to Steve Jennison, Natural Resources Department Fire District Manager. When a fire occurs on state land or private land where the landowners pay a forest patrol assessment, responsibility for the fire falls to the Washington DNR.

“The local firefighters did a great job on the initial attack. Our resources are not on the island and so we depend on the local departments. They are really important. They are extremely well trained wildlife fire responders. Their work saves the taxpayers a lot of money and they are able to respond faster then we can.”

Once it had been determined that the fire fell under their purview they were notified. They asked the fire department to continue to fight the fire until their fire staff could take it over just after 9:15 p.m.

Natural Resources used infrared cameras to determine that the fire was completely extinguished and remained on site until Thursday afternoon to ensure that there was no further fire activity.

“Most of our job was mopping up afterwards and ensuring that the fire did not rekindle,” Jennison said.