Dozens evacuated during Gig Harbor brush fire that nearly burned church, homes

GIG HARBOR, Wash. — A fast-moving brush fire nearly destroyed homes and a church in Gig Harbor on Sunday.

Gig Harbor Police tweeted about the fire in the area of 38th Avenue and Hunt Street at around 2 p.m. Dozens of people were evacuated while crews worked to put out the flames.

Initially, police reported that there were “multiple structure fires” but shortly after, Gig Harbor Fire said no buildings were burned.

However, members of Peninsula Lutheran told us the fire ripped through the playground on the property.

“Yeah, the playground is melted,” Frank Colony with the congregation said.

The burn marks on the property show how close the fire got to their building.

“Holy crud it got close!” Karen Colony said.

According to Colony, there was some smoke damage on the inside of one of the buildings, but nothing incredibly major. And while this was a scary situation for so many people in Gig Harbor, they are thankful no homes nor the church burned down.

“It’s truly a…it was a God thing that stopped this fire from hitting our church,” Karen Colony said.

People in the area told us a dog did sustain burns from the brush fire. A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay the vet bills.

Click here to donate.

©2023 Cox Media Group