Smoke was visible near Lake Ballinger in Mountlake Terrace Sunday morning as South County firefighters worked to extinguish a vegetation fire on the west side of Edmount Island.
The fire, reported shortly after 5 a.m., burned in 25-by-25-foot area of peat and other brush, South County Fire spokesperson Christie Veley said. Firefighters deployed two boats to reach the area and used a floating water pump to supply hose lines. Firefighters also used hand tools to cut vegetation and create a fire line.
In addition, Mountlake Terrace police brought its drone to the scene to assist firefighters.
Smoke was expected to be visible in the area for at least several more hours Sunday as firefighters worked to extinguish the fire. No injuries have been reported.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, Veley said.
In July 2009, an illegal barbecue sparked a stubborn and smoky peat bog fire on Edmount Island, with hundreds of thousands of gallons of lake water used to fight the fire. Firefighters used helicopter air drops and hoses supplied by floating pumps to battle that 2009 fire, which smouldered for days. Following that incident, the island was closed to the public.
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