PORT LUDLOW — A lawn mower stuck against a tree led to a barn fire that prompted the closure of state Highway 19 near Embody Road earlier this week.
No one was hurt in the fire, said Justin Slye, a firefighter and emergency medical technician with Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue, who added that no people or animals were in the barn when it caught fire at about 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Initially blocked in both directions, the highway at Milepost 3 was quickly opened to single-lane alternating traffic, the state Department of Transportation said.
It was fully reopened at about 3:30 p.m.
When firefighters arrived, the front half of the 20-foot-by-20-foot log-cabin-style barn, built in the 1970s, was ablaze, Slye said.
The front end of a car was melting, and a house nearby was so hot to the touch that firefighters knew it would burn next if they didn’t cool the structure quickly, Slye said.
The fire was brought under control in about five minutes, he said.
“We were able to cool the house and cool the car,” Slye said.
Firefighters then focused on quelling hot spots, he added.
It all started with the homeowner mowing the lawn.
The lawn mower became stuck against a 6-foot-tall tree that grew next to the barn, Slye said.
As the homeowner revved the engine, attempting to dislodge the mower, the hot exhaust set the tree ablaze, and that lit the barn fire, Slye said.