County DNR Looks at Damage to Cougar Mountain Park after Newcastle Fire

The brush fire that broke out near the Newcastle Golf Course on Tuesday was inside Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, and the Department of Natural Resources is assessing damage to the county park.

Firefighters from Bellevue, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Duvall Fire and the Forest Service worked for nearly two hours to contain a fire in the forest near the Newcastle Golf Course Tuesday evening, according to the Bellevue Fire Department.

Bellevue firefighters remained on scene through the night to extinguish fire hiding among tree roots and undergrowth.

The fire was a quarter mile into the Cougar Mountain park near Marshall's Hill Trail. Firefighters had to run 2,600 feet of hose uphill, through rough terrain in dark, according to the fire department. 

On the evening of the fire, officials had not yet verified whether the fire took place on park property.

The fire was spotted around 6 p.m. Tuesday by a Cessna pilot who told an aircraft controller at the Renton Airport, who called for firefighters, according to the Bellevue Fire Department.

About 14 fire resources, a number that includes fire engines, medical aid resources, and others, responded to the scene.

The response caused traffic backups in the Lakemont area around 6:30 p.m., motorists told Patch. The backups were on Lakemont Bouleveard from a little ways south of the Matthews Thriftway grocery store.

A King County fire investigator looked into the cause and origin of the fire. No injuries were reported, the fire department reported.