Ballard High School grad continued to battle blaze despite losing everything in Taylor Bridge fire

A Ballard High School graduate worked hard to contain the Taylor Bridge fire, even after his home was destroyed in the blaze. King 5 reports that Aaron Hamilton, 20, was living on a friend’s property in the wind farm along Highway 97, an area that burned to the ground in the quickly spreading fire.

Photo from King 5

Hamilton is a college student and works with the helitack crew, fighting fires with the Department of Natural Resources. He was busy working when he heard that the fire was spreading east, and that his home was at risk of burning down. He got a call from a family friend that there was fire on the property, and within an hour, he learned everything was gone, according to King 5.

“In hearing it was burned down, there was not a whole lot I can do. It’s happened. That’s done. I stayed out on the line to continue to help,” Hamilton told King 5.

When he returned home, he found that his personal items were beyond saving. He told King 5 it helped him relate more to the people he was helping by fighting the fire. “You feel for the people a little bit more, because you’re experiencing the same situation they are.”

The Taylor Bridge fire is now 90 percent contained, and crews hope to have full containment by Friday. According to our news partners, The Seattle Times, the fire has burned across more than 36 square miles, about 23,450 acres, and caused an estimated $8.3 million in property damage. Authorities have confirmed 51 homes and 26 outbuildings were destroyed and at least six other homes were damaged, the Times reports.