SEQUIM — Clallam County Fire District 3 closed on its sale of Lost Mountain Station 36, a fire station opened in 1980 intended to serve the area 6 miles south of U.S. Highway 101.
It sold to a neighbor for $324,000, with funds set to help offset expenditures for building a new Carlsborg Station 33 at the current training and operation center property at 255 Carlsborg Road.
Fire Chief Justin Grider said there were offers at asking price and many at lower than asking, and district leaders agreed to sell for $25,000 under asking price.
“It was the right buyer for this property,” he said. “He lives close by and is a good owner.”
Grider chose not to disclose the new owner’s name.
The station was listed through Mark N. McHugh Real Estate in June following months of fire officials’ outreach to nearby residents asking them to become volunteer firefighters and staff the station.
Fire district leaders said the area hasn’t had an active volunteer since 2021, and it’s been without an apparatus for about 10 years.
Staff previously said the district couldn’t afford the costs of full-time paid staff at the station for the area’s few calls a year, and Carlsborg Station 33 has an approximate eight-minute response time.
Grider previously said he thinks “the service delivery is still there” for residents.
Commissioner Mike Mingee, who attended two public outreach meetings, said selling the station was a tough decision but the right one due to costs for deferred maintenance.
“I feel we did our due diligence,” Grider said of the district’s outreach.
Grider said they could possibly use some of the sale’s proceeds to purchase a storage container for the Lost Mountain Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members to use in an emergency, but that depends on if a neighbor has a space they’d be willing to donate for the container to go in the area.
“We still see value in having a team up there,” Grider said.
The district also removed and donated the bell atop the building to Sequim Museum and Arts.
Lost Mountain Station is the third recent property sold by the fire district.
Fire commissioners agreed to sell two pieces of property — 1.96 acres on East Anderson Road for $160,000 and 5.2 acres on the 100 block of Sieberts Creek Road for $175,000 — after determining the locations were no longer ideal for new fire stations.
Those funds also went into a capital fund for the Carlsborg Station.
As for future fire stations, Grider said district leaders are still exploring options for where to place them and potential funding options.
The Carlsborg station is still a priority as its current station at 70 Carlsborg Road is too small for staff and apparatuses, he said, and they’re considering other future best locations as significant housing developments are anticipated in eastern Sequim.
While still in the planning phases, Grider said a station on the south side of U.S. Highway 101 by Whitefeather Way and Simdars Road could be ideal to increase response times, but that could depend on completion of the nearby Simdars Road interchange and if a roundabout goes in.
“We’re assessing everything and talking with local agencies, developers, etc.,” Grider said.
Next year’s budget
Fire commissioners approved the district’s approximate $17.2 million 2025 budget on Nov. 19.
That includes the final payment of $1.84 million for three new fire trucks, anticipated to arrive sometime in 2025.
The district also ordered a new brush truck and three Ford F-150s for battalion chiefs to share, the community medic and the medical safety officer.
Staff said they’re awaiting word on a grant to offset about half of the truck purchases.
Staff account for about 83 percent of the fire district’s budget, with 15 firefighters serving on three shifts, plus one battalion chief on each shift.
Grider said they’ve responded to 8,200 calls for service this year and anticipate going to a record 9,200 by the end of the year.
Fire commissioners unanimously agreed in August to ask voters to approve a multiyear levy lid lift on Aug. 5, 2025, for the general levy, and to run an EMS levy lid lift renewal in 2026.
The general levy would start collecting in 2026 and restore the existing levy to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation to fund and maintain the district’s staffing levels and services, and help replace equipment and infrastructure. Currently, the district’s general levy is at $1.12 per $1,000 assessed value.
Staff said in August the general levy would cost taxpayers about $17 more per month, based on a home valuation of $470,000. They also reported that the general levy makes up about two-thirds of the district’s budget, while the EMS levy is most of the other third.
For more information about Clallam County Fire District 3, visit ccfd3.org.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
