Current:Home > MarketsWildfire closes highway through Washington’s North Cascades National Park-LoTradeCoin
Wildfire closes highway through Washington’s North Cascades National Park
View Date:2024-12-24 11:07:55
NEWHALEM, Wash. (AP) — A wildfire has forced a major cross-state highway to close in Washington’s rugged North Cascades National Park.
State Route 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway, was closed Friday night between Newhalem and Rainy Day Pass by the state Department of Transportation. It remained closed Monday with no estimated reopening date.
The Sourdough fire ignited on July 29 because of a lightning strike near Diablo in the steep terrain of the Ross Lake Recreation Area. The fire on Monday continued slowly moving toward the Diablo Dam, a Seattle City Light power plant and an area where park workers live, the Bellingham Herald reported.
“The fire hasn’t gone all the way down to those structures. We still want to treat them as if they are at risk,” Mark Enty, a spokesperson for the National Interagency Fire Center team that’s now managing firefighting operations, told the newspaper.
The North Cascades Highway is the northernmost pass connecting eastern and western Washington. It’s closed to ensure firefighter safety as they use the road to move equipment, Enty said.
Motorists can use U.S. Highway 2, Interstate 90 or U.S. Highway 12 as alternative routes across the state, the Department of Transportation said.
The blaze had burned about 2.25 square miles (5.8 square kilometers) as of Monday, according to fire officials.
Firefighters are protecting the town of Diablo, the power-generating facilities and the campus of the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, he said.
About 340 firefighters and support personnel are working on the fire with helicopters playing a big role in slowing the fire’s spread, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The North Cascades National Park Visitor Center and Newhalem area campgrounds remain open, officials said, but people should be prepared for possible wildfire smoke.
veryGood! (67)
Related
- In an AP interview, the next Los Angeles DA says he’ll go after low-level nonviolent crimes
- Florida’s iconic Key deer face an uncertain future as seas rise
- This '90s Music Icon's Masked Singer Elimination Will Leave You Absolutely Torn
- AI ProfitPulse: Ushering in a New Era of Investment
- Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon steps down after 10 seasons amid first year in FBS
- Michigan man sentenced to 30 years in prison for role in online child exploitation ring
- Kourtney Kardashian Shows Son Rocky Barker Bonding With Travis Barker in New Photo
- Why Fans Think Cardi B May Have Revealed the Name of Her Third Baby With Offset
- Certifying this year’s presidential results begins quietly, in contrast to the 2020 election
- Pioneer of Quantitative Trading: Damon Quisenberry's Professional Journey
Ranking
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- Ariana Grande Explains Why She Changed Her Voice for Glinda in Wicked
- Roland Quisenberry: A Token-Driven Era for Fintech
- USDA sets rule prohibiting processing fees on school lunches for low-income families
- Horoscopes Today, November 10, 2024
- Jury convicts man of killing girlfriend and hiding her body in rural Minnesota
- 49ers DE Nick Bosa says MAGA hat stunt was 'well worth' likely fine
- 2 people charged with stealing items from historic site inside Canyonlands National Park
Recommendation
-
Bluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X
-
A green giant: This year’s 74-foot Rockefeller Christmas tree is en route from Massachusetts
-
Longstanding US Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia says he is battling esophageal cancer
-
$700 million? Juan Soto is 'the Mona Lisa' as MLB's top free agent, Scott Boras says
-
Jury awards Abu Ghraib detainees $42 million, holds contractor responsible
-
Health care worker gets 2 years for accessing Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s medical records
-
Sofia Richie Proves Baby Girl Eloise Is a Love Bug in New Photos With Elliot Grainge
-
A gunman has repeatedly fired at cars on a busy highway near North Carolina’s capital