A wildfire burning close to the North Cascades Highway east of Whatcom County has closed the northernmost pass between Eastern and Western Washington.
Officials at the Washington State Department of Transportation closed the route on Sunday afternoon, after initially saying the road would see intermittent closures as wildland firefighters work near the road.
“The fire’s proximity to the roadway requires that the road must close for the safety of the traveling public and the fire response crews. The closure is in place until further notice,” WSDOT said in an email.
Sunday’s closure is between mileposts 148 and 157, east of Newhalem. Travelers can use U.S. Highway 2 or Interstate 90 to get across the Cascades.
Called the Easy Fire, the blaze was sparked by lightning from dry thunderstorms on Wednesday night.
It has burned nearly 300 acres and was crowning in timber of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, according to InciWeb, the national wildfire information database.
It was 0% contained.
“At the Easy Fire, firefighters will work above Highway 20 to remove fuels and clear burned trees to prevent the fire from reaching the highway and continue protection activities for structures and other resources that could be threatened. As additional resources become available, crews will begin removing fuel from avalanche shoots on either side of the fire,” according to an online report from Incident Commander Lonnie Click.
Fire has extended over Mount Hardy and is threatening the Pacific Crest Trail and moving slowly down slope toward Highway 20, the report said.
“Critical weather conditions continue to produce areas of very active fire behavior,” the report said.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning through 8 pm. Monday. A Red Flag Warning is in place for hot, dry and unstable conditions.
Temperatures will remain in the upper 90s to low 100s with cooling expected early next week.
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