Local

Slide blocks Mount Baker Highway amid heavy snow

A slide of trees, rocks and snow blocks the Mount Baker Highway at milepost 52.4 near the Mt. Baker Ski Area on Tuesday, April 18, on the state highway in the North Cascades about 50 miles east of Bellingham.
A slide of trees, rocks and snow blocks the Mount Baker Highway at milepost 52.4 near the Mt. Baker Ski Area on Tuesday, April 18, on the state highway in the North Cascades about 50 miles east of Bellingham. Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

A slide has blocked Mount Baker Highway just below the summit, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.

“It’s up there a ways,” WSDOT spokeswoman R.B. McKeon told The Bellingham Herald on Tuesday, April 18.

“Our crews are up there. They’ll need to bring in a loader. Winter’s not over,” McKeon said in a telephone interview.

It was uncertain when the road would be cleared, McKeon said.

WSDOT tweeted a photo that showed a pile of trees, rocks and snow blocking the road.

Road conditions were reported as slushy at the WSDOT website, and the Mt. Baker Ski Area said at its website that 23 inches of snow had fallen in the past 48 hours.

The ski area is closed until Friday, April 21, according to its website.

Mount Baker Highway ends at milepost 58, Artist Point.

But there’s a seasonal closure at Heather Meadows, about milepost 55.

This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 2:43 PM.

Robert Mittendorf
The Bellingham Herald
Robert Mittendorf covers civic issues, weather, traffic and how people are coping with the high cost of housing for The Bellingham Herald. A journalist since 1984, he also served 22 years as a volunteer firefighter for South Whatcom Fire Authority before retiring in 2025.
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