Small Whatcom County mountain town, power station out of fire danger as blaze continues
A highway remains closed across the North Cascades but crews are making progress against the wildfire that forced its closure twice and have saved the town of Diablo, Washington, and power-generating facilities for Seattle City Light, authorities said.
Firefighters who are monitoring burned areas near the small mountain town with thermal-imaging cameras reported no “hot spots” remain after flames slowly burned past, said Nicholas DiGiacco, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center.
“They’re picking up no heat sources. They’re confident in calling that area contained,” DiGiacco told The Bellingham Herald in a phone interview.
No injuries have been reported and no buildings have been damaged as a result of the fire, which has been burning more than two weeks, he said.
As of Monday, the fire had burned 2,953 acres and was 11% contained, DiGiacco said.
It started with a lightning strike July 29 on Sourdough Mountain and still threatens the campus of the North Cascades Environmental Leaning Center, Ross Lake Resort and the historic 1933 fire Lookout on Sourdough Mountain.
Fire is creeping west along state Highway 20 in steep terrain, burning vegetation in the understory.
Firefighters have been using “burnout techniques” to send the fire toward Newhalem, where a a 2015 wildfire left burn scars that should stop its western progress, DiGiacco said.
“That’s really what our intent was, to move this fire into that scar with the intention that it would run out of fuel.,” he said.
Helicopters are still making water drops on the fire’s east flank and firefighters are monitoring buildings that remain in the fire’s path, he said.
A “red flag warning” from the National Weather Service with low humidity and temperatures nearing 100 degrees meant that burnout operations have stopped, DiGiacco said.
A high of 104 degrees was recorded at Diablo on Sunday, he said.
Highway 20 is closed from Newhalem to Rainy Pass for firefighting operations and because rocks and debris loosened by flames are falling onto the roadway, the Washington State Department of Transportation said in tweets over the weekend.
“No ETA for reopening. WSDOT crews are at fire camp today. The fire remains active and near the road.”
Meanwhile, travelers can use Interstate 90 and U.S. Highways 2 and 12 linking Eastern and Western Washington, WSDOT said.
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 12:24 PM.
