Town of Yacolt

105 E Yacolt Rd, P.O. Box 108

Yacolt, WA 98675
360-686-3922

General Information

Incorporation: Town of Yacolt, incorporated July 31, 1908.

Population: 1,470 (2008).

Rank in size: 181st largest in Washington

Area: 0.5 square miles (1/2007)

Form of Government

Mayor-Council

Elected Officials

Town Council

Joe Warren, mayor

Term expires: 2011

Ron Madler

Term expires: 2011

James Weldon

Term expires: 2013

Karen Holyk

Term expires: 2013

Dave Hancock

Term expires: 2011

Cindy Marbut

Term expires: 2011

Engagement Opportunities

Staff

Notes of Special Interest

In September 1902 the town, which consisted of only 15 buildings at the time, was nearly destroyed by the Yacolt Burn, the largest fire in state history.

The Yacolt Burn was the worst forest fire in the history of Washington state. Fanned by the dry "Devil Wind" from eastern Washington, the fire began in the early hours of September 12, 1902 just north of Carson, Wash. It traveled 30 miles in 36 hours and destroyed 238,920 acres of timber, about 12 billion board feet, in Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties. The loss of timber alone was assessed at a 1902 value of $30 million.
The fire dropped one-half inch of ash in Portland, Ore. The smoke was so thick that street lights glowed at noon in Seattle 160 miles away. Yacolt, Wash., was approached by the inferno close enough to blister paint on the town's 15 buildings, but the wind changed, causing the fire to veer north toward the Lewis River, where it burned itself out.