Cause of weekend fire on Governor’s Point ‘just doesn’t make sense’

The cause of a fire that scorched an estimated one to two acres of forest land Saturday morning on Governor’s Point south of Bellingham is unknown.

South Whatcom Fire Authority crews were called to near Larrabee State Park at about 6 a.m. Saturday after smoke was spotted from nearby Sinclair Island. Chief Dave Ralston said the fire started on the west side of the peninsula and spread up some steep terrain, making it tough to access.

Bellingham Fire was called to assist, Ralston said, and Marine 5 slowed the flames by spraying water. Ralston said the fire crews remained on scene for four to five hours, before passing off to Washington State Department of Natural Resources crews, which mopped up and kept an eye on the area Saturday and Sunday.

“It was in a pretty remote area,” Ralston said. “There’s not a lot activity back there, and for that reason, we can’t say exactly how it got started. Maybe it was some kayakers that started a beach fire the night before, but other than that, it just doesn’t make sense.”

Whatcom County remains under an outside fire burn ban for yard debris. Small, recreational or campfires fires are now permitted, but must be attended at all times and have water on hand to extinguish them.

Ralston said the burn ban likely will remain in effect until the area receives rain. Some of that precipitation may come this weekend, as the National Weather Service in Seattle is predicting a 30 percent chance of rain Friday for Bellingham continuing Saturday.

“It’s been a very dry summer,” Ralston said. “For our area, we seen a lot of outside fires and fires in general. It’s been a busy season for fires.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 11:25 AM.