Strategy for fighting the Blue Canyon Road wildfire: box it in, let it burn itself out
The goal of firefighters regarding the Blue Canyon fire is to box it in and let it burn itself out naturally.
There wasn’t much growth in the fire Tuesday night, as the rain helped keep the Blue Canyon fire under control, state Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris Hankey said. However, by letting the fire burn itself out and preventing it from spreading, it will likely continue to burn until heavy rain comes.
“The fire will be contained at some point, hopefully soon, but it won’t be out until the real rains come,” Hankey said. “There will be smoke coming out of this fire potentially for a good while, a couple weeks.”
No injuries have been reported, and there has been no damage to any structures.
The wildfire started by a lightning strike Monday night during the thunderstorm. The fire covers about 25-30 acres in the hills above Lake Whatcom.
However, there still is a concern that if the winds shift the fire could start traveling toward about 20 homes that are located along Blue Canyon Road in the southeast part of the lake. Residents have been under a Level 2 evacuation notice since Tuesday, meaning they should be ready to leave at a moments notice.
Many residents told the Bellingham Herald they have secured important papers and other valuables and are ready to leave if necessary.
“I’ve got my important papers packed. If we get an evacuation notice, I’m going to load up my kitties and go,” resident Linda Woods told The Herald.
Fighting the fire
Fire lines are created by cutting down and removing all flammable material from a distance from the fire, like drawing a line in the sand. The goal is to get the line down to “mineral soil” Hankey said.
As of Wednesday there were three hand crews creating the lines. This includes the Baker River Hotshot crew, a specially trained crew that has been brought in for their expertise. There are also five DNR and two contract fire engines at the fire. Helicopters are being used to reenforce the fire lines and are pulling water out of Lake Whatcom, so all boats and drones in the area are grounded until further notice.
These resources were brought in not because of the size of the fire, but because of how close it is to structures and people. The steep terrain of the area has also made things difficult for crews.
“The fire, when it started to grow, it grew really fast. It started getting beyond the ability for local DNR to manage the complexity of the incident,” Hankey said “It is very visible, there was a risk to structures and homes. It is very steep terrain, very difficult terrain. There’s rolling debris, there are boulders coming down, there are trees coming down and some of them are sliding all the way to the lake.”
Another concern raised by the fire is that it’s happening in the Lake Whatcom Watershed, which provides drinking water to Bellingham.
This story was originally published August 31, 2023 at 8:40 AM.
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