Crews battle Porter Creek Fire after flames visible through much of Whatcom Wednesday
Department of Natural Resource fire crews continue to monitor an area east of Van Zandt where a large wildfire that was visible throughout parts of Whatcom and Skagit counties burned Wednesday evening.
The location of the fire is near the Porter Creek logging road, off Mosquito Lake Road near Deming, according to an 11:04 p.m. April 15 Facebook post by Whatcom County Fire District 14. The post said the fire was not on Sumas Mountain.
The fire grew from about 20 acres to approximately 80 acres by morning and has been named the Porter Creek Fire, Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Janet Pearce told The Bellingham Herald.
It burned in wetland, brush and some timber areas, Pearce said, adding that it’s likely flames will hit an area of cattails Thursday.
“When it hits those cattails — those are fairly dry — people are going to see a lot of smoke today,” Pearce told The Herald. “But we’re working on it and trying to get it contained.”
Those efforts were hindered Wednesday night, District 14 Fire Chief Jerry DeBruin told The Herald, because access to the area was impeded by snow-covered roads in the area. He said the Department of Natural Resources was attempting to get a couple of bulldozers in to clear the roads.
The department also is formulating a plan to battle the fire Thursday morning, Pearce said, adding that those efforts will likely include one or two helicopters to douse burning area from above.
“We’re hoping to be able to start mopping up by this afternoon,” Pearce said. “We don’t expect it to grow too much more at this point.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Peace said, adding that there was “obviously” no lightning in the area at the time.
“We hope this doesn’t tell us what kind of year it’s going to be with a fire this early,” Pearce said.
The recent rain-free weather Northwest Washington has seen has made for some extremely dry conditions for this time of year, DeBruin said, adding that the burn index on Wednesday was in the 97th percentile.
“For this time of year for things to dry out the way they have, that can be a bad combination,” DeBruin told The Herald.
Flames visible Wednesday
The fire was highly visible to residents who live near Lake Whatcom, according to a 9:07 p.m. Facebook post by the South Whatcom Fire Authority, which asked residents not to phone 911 to report smoke or flames in the area of the fire unless life or safety were threatened.
Doug Huddle, a former longtime employee of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and outdoors correspondent for The Bellingham Herald, was in the area at the time and told The Herald he spotted and reported two areas of flame at approximately 7:22 p.m. along a ridge crest approximately 2,400 feet above the river.
Huddle reported the first Department of Natural Resource crews arrived shortly after 8 p.m., and though the sky was clear, a wind that he estimated to be 30 knots pushed the fire quickly south downhill in a clearcut area where there were some seed trees.
The fire generated enough heat to form tornado-like funnels of flame Huddle estimated to be several hundred feet high, and he said he saw flames move east into an area of standing timber near the headwaters of a tributary of Heisler’s Creek.
Huddle estimated approximately 45 acres were involved in the fire by the time he left at 9:15 p.m.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 7:38 AM.
