QUINCY, Wash. — Lisa Fulwiler said she was looking forward to parking her trailer at the Thousand Trails campground in Quincy, WA. Camping is something she said she typically does with her husband so Monday's trip was special because she was set to camp alone.
"It's really hard to get in there to camp because it's so popular," Fulwiler said. "It's just so beautiful."
Fulwiler was prepared to spend a whole week at the camp, but a wildfire Monday afternoon upended those plans.
"I noticed it was kind of smelly outside," Fulwiler recalled. "I saw the fire up at the top of the hill. It hadn't come over the highway yet. But by the time that we evacuated, it was about a half an hour from the time I saw the smoke. I mean, it was almost completely covered. It was hard to see in front of you there was ash falling, it was scary.”
The Grant County Sheriff's Office issued level three - 'go now' evacuations for Crescent Bar around 7 p.m. Monday.
"I was panicked, but I knew just grab your dog and grab the important stuff and get out of there because it's not worth hanging out, I mean, your life isn't worth that," Fulwiler said. "It's just a trailer. We can replace that."
Fulwiler left her trailer and made the two-hour drive back to Tacoma. There, she waited for updates on when she could return to her trailer and personal belongings.
"I've hardly slept," Fulwiler said. "I've been watching the news. I've been online. I've been trying to gather all the information that I can. And of course, you know, this all the circuits are busy at the campground. I don't know what we're gonna go back into."
Luckily, GCSO dropped level 3 evacuations down to level two noon Tuesday. Fulwiler also learned the campground reopened Tuesday afternoon. She told KREM2 she went back to the campsite to reunite with her trailer and continue the rest of her camping trip.
Even with this update, GCSO said crews are still putting out hot spots left from the fire.
Wildfire chaser Michael McPherson drove from Moses Lake to State Rt. 28 to review the clean-up efforts.
He said he was also there to capture the height of Monday's flames.
"Definitely more intense than I’ve seen before," McPherson said over the phone. "Just the way it was burning so hot and fast.”
GCSO's Kyle Foreman said the fire appears to mostly be out. The office has yet to release an official containment report.
He said people should continue to be situationally aware as the area remains in level two - 'be ready' in case evacuations are called again.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.