Campers and day visitors at Battle Ground Lake State Park were suddenly ordered out Saturday afternoon after officers converged on the park while searching for a passenger who fled from a vehicle connected to a reported drive-by shooting. The evacuation began shortly before 2 p.m. local time, with park staff moving quickly to clear guests from the 280-acre crater lake property in rural Clark County. One man was arrested, and police were searching for a second suspect.
A Washington State Parks employee confirmed the park was closed due to an emergency, according to KATU, which reported that law enforcement officers were on scene as the evacuation unfolded. The outlet's report, credited to KATU Staff, said the park began evacuating guests and campers Saturday and noted the story was still developing as more information came in.
Witness Describes Gunshots Near Park
Kayla McCartney, a witness to the gunshots, told KATU what she heard as the situation developed. Police arrested one man and were searching for a second suspect.
Washington State Parks lists Battle Ground Lake State Park under Burn Ban Level 2 on its public alerts page. The park sits in unincorporated Clark County outside any city's police jurisdiction, emergency law enforcement response there typically falls to the Clark County Sheriff's Office working alongside state park rangers, according to the City of Battle Ground. That arrangement means incidents involving armed officers generally require coordination between multiple agencies and can trigger immediate evacuations from campsites and day-use areas across the property.
A Popular Volcanic Crater Lake Draws Heavy Weekend Crowds
Battle Ground Lake State Park is built around a 25.4-acre crater lake formed roughly 105,000 years ago by a steam explosion in the Boring Lava Field, according to Wikipedia. The park, located at 18002 NE 249th Street near Battle Ground, includes 46 campsites, four reservable cabins, primitive equestrian facilities, and a one-mile Lower Lake Trail, per Explore Washington State.
Visitors need a Washington State Discover Pass to enter by vehicle, and state fishing regulations bar internal combustion motors on the lake to protect water quality, according to the Washington State Register.
Battle Ground Lake Is a Washington State Park
Battle Ground Lake is now a Washington state park.
The campground reopened before 4 p.m. Police arrested Theodore Seaman, 44, and booked him into the Clark County Jail on a drive-by-shooting charge while searching for a second suspect.
