Autopsy pending in fatal North Whidbey burn incident

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 24, 2026

A 75-year-old woman died while burning garbage on North Whidbey earlier this week.

Around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, North Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded to a medical emergency call involving CPR and burns at the woman’s home on Zylstra Road. First responders performed CPR on the woman before she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her exact cause of death has not been determined. An autopsy is scheduled for late Friday afternoon, after press time, according to the Coroner’s Office.

Deputy Chief Ray Merrill explained that burn patterns on the pile of garbage and on the woman’s body indicate her clothes may have caught fire. He added that a medical emergency, such as a heart attack, could have occurred as well.

Two people, including the woman’s grandson, called 911. Merrill said family members reported the woman had not been seen for at least an hour.

The fire had already been extinguished by the time firefighters arrived.

“According to our folks, the fire wasn’t even smoking, so it had been out for a little bit of time,” Merrill said. “So it wasn’t a real big fire.”

Merrill believes this is the district’s first fire-related fatality this year. The last occurred in June 2025, when a man died in an explosion and fire on Strawberry Point Road while building his own devices for a firework show.

Although Island County has been under a burn ban since July, burning garbage is illegal statewide regardless of burn restrictions.