A Coast Guard helicopter has been spotted dropping water on the growing fire consuming Protection Island Tuesday.
Local resident Nancy Proutt Hassen told The Leader via a social media …
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A Coast Guard helicopter has been spotted dropping water on the growing fire consuming Protection Island Tuesday.
Local resident Nancy Proutt Hassen told The Leader via a social media message that the “fire is now on the ridge top & [a] chopper is rapidly dropping water on it.”
The action resulted in “dramatically reducing the spread in just the last 30 minutes,” said Thomas Kyle-Milward of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Although Protection Island is under federal jurisdiction — as it is a national preserve — the DNR did send a helicopter to help put out the fire.
As of 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the fire was roughly 10 acres in size.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website, recreation.gov, 70 percent of nesting seabirds in the Puget Sound area and Straits of San Juan de Fuca depend on the 100-acre island’s unique habitat, including 50 percent of the last remaining tufted puffins in Puget Sound.
