Mt Si Fire Spreads to 18 Acres, Now 50% Contained

** Update, 7/28/13, 7:15PM:  Washington State Department of Natural Resources says the Mt Si/ 444th fire is now 50% contained and 18 acres as of 7PM, Sunday, July 28, 2013. **

** Update, 7/28/13 1:30PM: King 5 reports the Mt Si fire, called the 444th fire, is now at 18 acres. 50 firefighters on scene, with more expected to arrive today. The Seattle Times reported this morning that 75 firefighter were expected on Sunday. The cause of the fire is under investigation. No evacuations have been ordered. The fire is on steep, rugged terrain and seems to be spreading uphill. Helicopters dumped water to cool landand slow the spread yesterday. One resident reported on Saturday that those two helicopters were called to help with larger fires in central Washington and Oregon. **

** Update, July 27, 2013, 9PM:  Mt. Si Road resident, Michael Williams, said the fire spread uphill and west today as it increased in acreage.  This time, though, the fire appeared to be mostly on the ground without the evergreen tree branches becoming fully involved – like on Friday when the fire first broke out.  The helicopters dumped large buckets of water during the afternoon while the wind tried to cancel out the efforts.  As of Saturday evening, though, the winds calmed which will hopefully allow firefighters to gain the upper hand. **

According to the Seattle Times, a second helicopter is now helping battle the Mt. Si fire on Saturday, July 27,2013 . Helicopters are scooping water from the Snoqualmie River and dropping it on flames burning on the steep slopes of Mt. Si.

The fire was reported around 12PM on Friday, July 26, 2013 and grew overnight to at least 10 acres. The Times is reporting the fire to be about 11 or 12 acres by Saturday afternoon.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources has not put out an estimate today regarding the percentage of the fire that is contained.

Here is a videos and some photos from readers of the Mt. Si fire.

YouTube video of helicopter getting water from Snoqualmie River.  The video was shot by  Stephanie Kampschror from the Mt. Si Road bridge in North Bend on Sunday, July 27, 2013 at 11AM.