Officials assess threat to town as more crews head to fire in Whatcom County
Additional wildland firefighting crews are heading to the North Cascades National Park, and officials are preparing to protect buildings in a western Whatcom County town if flames threaten.
A fire on Sourdough Mountain remained at 25 acres Monday night when it was burning in steep terrain above the town of Diablo, according to the National Park Service.
“The North Cascades fire crew is assessing infrastructure in the town of Diablo for protection measures if the need may arise,” said park service spokeswoman Katy Hooper.
Seattle City Light produces electricity at the Diablo Dam on the Skagit River in the shadow of the 6,113-foot peak where lightning sparked a fire on Saturday.
Officials didn’t have an immediate update on the fire’s size Tuesday.
An elite “hotshot” crew of firefighters was due to arrive Tuesday and join others who are fighting the fire, which is burning in “heavy dead and downed fuels” on the western and southern slopes of Sourdough Mountain, Hooper said in an online statement.
Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were dropping water from the air, Hooper said.
Flames were burning about two miles away from a historic fire lookout, Hooper told The Herald in an interview.
Park officials closed part of the Sourdough Mountain Trail.
Airborne fire operations were interrupted for about 45 minutes Sunday because drones were being flown in the area, she said.
Officials at the Washington State Department of Transportation asked drivers not to pull over for photos along the two-lane road.
