State fire assistance has been mobilized under the Washington State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan in support of local firefighters working to contain the Wawawai Fire located in Whitman County, near the city of Pullman. Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized the mobilization of state firefighting resources at 1:45 a.m. this (Tue) morning at the request of Whitman County Fire District 12 Chief Lester Erwin.
The Wawawai Fire started last (Mon) night at about 9:20. The fire is estimated at 350 acres and growing. It is burning in grass and brush and is threatening crops, rangeland, and infrastructure including 911 communication towers. Level 1 evacuations are in effect at this time. The fire cause is currently under investigation.
The State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray remains activated at Level 2 to help coordinate state assistance for the Wawawai Fire. Mobilization specialists from the Fire Protection Bureau have ordered 3 strike teams, and the fire will be managed by a Type 3 Incident Management Team.
Under the State Fire Services Resource Mobilization Plan, the Fire Protection Bureau coordinates the initial dispatch and continued administrative oversight of resources and personnel for the duration of the mobilization. The Mobilization Plan is implemented to provide a process to quickly notify, assemble and deploy fire service personnel, equipment and other resources from around the state when fires, disasters or other events exceed the capacity of local jurisdictions.
