Thursday, July 17,2014 -Mason County Journal- Page A-11
STAFF REPORT
news@masoncoun~ corn
Firefighters battled a brush fire that
burned for two hours about 3 acres
across the street from the Deer Creek
Store on state Route 3 on July 9.
The cause of the fire is under inves-
tigation.
Central Mason Fire & EMS was
alerted to the brush fire about 2:30
p.m. Upon arrival, crews found acres of
grass burning in a hay field. The agen-
cy reports that crews had difficulty
gaining access to the fire.
Winds blew the fire north, creating
heavy smoke and limited visibility on
state Route 3, according to the agency.
A 2011 Chevrolet truck in the field
was destroyed in the blaze. The pickup
was being used to comb the grass for
bailing.
Mason County fire districts 2, 3, 4,
11, 12, 13 and 18 responded to the blaze
along with three state Department of
Natural Resources units, Washington
State Patrol and the Mason County
Sheriffs Office.
Journal photos by Gordon Weeks
Firefighters with the state Department of Natural Resources extinguish flames at a brush fire that burned about 3 acres alongside state Route 3 on July 9.
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STAFF REPORT
news@masoncounty.com
A recent streak of
warm, dry weather
has prompted the Ma-
son County Fire Mar-
shal's Office and the
Mason County Fire
Chiefs Association to
issue a countywide
burn ban.
The ban took effect at
noon Friday.
Recreational fires are
still allowed under cer-
tain circumstances.
Permitted fires must
be in metal or concrete
fire pits and cannot be
issue
nln
used for yard debris
disposal.
They must be a maxi-
mum of 3 feet in diame-
ter and be surrounded by
a 10-foot firebreak with
20 feet of vertical clear-
ance.
The fire must also
be 25 feet away from a
structure or other com-
bustible material.
Fires cannot create a
nuisance and an adult
must be on hand to ex-
tinguish the fire.
For more information,
go to co.mason.wa.us/
community_dev/fire_
marshal/index.php.
STAFF REPORT
news@masoncoun com
Low water levels caused the
state Department of Health to
direct customers connected to
the Alderbrook water system in
Union to boil their water over the
weekend.
By Monday, the DOH had lift-
ed the order, saying that lab tests
show the water is safe to drink.
Mason County PUD 1, which
owns and manages the Alder-
brook water system, asked cus-
tomers of all of its water systems
to conserve water to avoid anoth-
er order to boil their water.
PUD 1 owns 35 water systems
in Mason County.
Due to the dry weather and
heat Mason County has experi-
enced this month, several PUD
water systems have experienced
low water levels in their reser-
voir, according to the district.
If those systems lose water
pressure, they could also have to
boil their water.
The utility is asking custom-
ers with even-numbered street
addresses to limit outdoor water
use to even-numbered calendar
days. Odd-numbered street ad-
dresses should limit their out-
door water use to odd-numbered
days.
Customers should continue
this practice as long as tempera-
tures remain in the 80s and 90s,
according to the PUD.
On Friday, the state DOH ad-
vised Alderbrook customers to
boil their water after they expe-
rienced back-to-back water out-
ages.
During the outages, all three
of the system's 100,000-gallon
reservoirs went dry, potentially
allowing contaminants to enter
the water system, according to
the PUD.
The Alderbrook water system
serves 455 homes and businesses
including the Alderbrook Resort
& Spa and the Alderbrook Golf
Club.
The year-round population
of 1,100 increases to more than
• 3,100 during the summer, accord-
ing to PUD 1.
For more information, call
PUD 1 at 877-5249.
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