CUSTER, Wash. — First responders were dispatched to a report of a small outdoor fire near the intersection of Loomis Trail Road and Enterprise Road about 10:15am on Friday, September 1st.
North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) Division Chief Shaun Ward told Whatcom News as they approached, they could see a “rather large plume.”
Upon arrival they found a very large open barn with a third with large bale of hay. The rest was storage for equipment and pen for pigs.
Personnel on site had already removed the equipment and the pigs from the building. NWFR personnel set up a defensive attack on the Westside and east side of the building. The posture created a line to stop the progression of the fire and kept it from spreading, saving half of the structure.
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NWFR tenders from Delta station responded and provided water as needed. Personnel from the farm made a request for a track hoe to peel the metal siding and roofing from the collapsed section of the building.
The roofing had completely covered the hay and was peeled to gain further access to the hay. The hay burned and was seated too deep to extinguish so it was allowed to continue to burn itself up.
The farm personnel set up a fire watch to ensure no embers spread or started further fires.
The hay will be burning for at least the next two days. North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (September 1, 2023)
