High winds pushed a large brush fire toward multiple Renton neighborhoods Sunday evening, causing authorities to temporarily evacuate nearby buildings.
The fire, reported around 6 p.m., prompted firefighters to respond from throughout the region. The fire was initially burning in brush near the Royal Hills Apartments on Royal Hills Drive Southeast.
By 7 p.m. firefighters had mostly extinguished the fire and were in the “mop up” phase, using foam to control hot spots, said Deputy Chief Chuck DeSmith of Renton Regional Fire.
Flames threatened buildings but never reached the structures, DeSmith said.
“Every year this location is prone to serious brush fires. Heavy fuels, on a plateau, with multiple apartment buildings as exposures,” the Renton firefighters union tweeted.
High-tension power lines in the area hampered the use of water to knock down the blaze. But crews were able to gain control attacking the fire from either side of the lines.
“Unfortunately this is going to be one of many this summer,” DeSmith said. “Everything is really dry, and you get a little wind … this is the dangerous stuff.”