Sourdough fire grows in Whatcom’s North Cascades as flames are rolling downhill
A wildfire in the North Cascades of western Whatcom County continues to grow and advance slowly toward a tiny mountain enclave and a hydroelectric power plant that supplies Seattle, federal officials said Wednesday.
Pete Irvine, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center’s southern “Gray Team,” told The Bellingham Herald that elite “hotshot” units had to withdraw, but helicopters and aircraft are still dropping water to prevent fire spread uphill.
“The ground forces have had to pull back because the slope is too steep. The uphill aspect of the fire has been kept in check,” Irvine said. “We’re getting rollout downhill, pine cones and sticks that are on fire rolling down the hill.”
Burning debris tumbling downhill puts firefighters in danger and has started spot fires that have allowed the fire to grow to about 30 acres, mostly downhill toward the Diablo Dam and the town of Diablo.
“It looks like we should’ve brought our climbing gear,” the La Grande Hotshots said on the team’s Facebook page.
More than 90 seasoned firefighters have been assigned to the incident, and several of them have structural firefighting expertise, Irvine said.
Those crews are conducting “triage” on the Seattle City Light’s hydroelectric power plant and homes for its workers, he said.
“We definitely realize the potential risk,” Irvine said.
“We can’t put firefighters on the fire’s edge. (But) we’re making plans to keep it away from those structures,” he said.
Officials said the fire started with a lightning strike Saturday on Sourdough Mountain, a 6,113-foot peak that towers above the Diablo Dam and the North Cascades Institute’s Environmental Learning Center.
It is burning in brush and woody debris, and is visible from Highway 20, the North Cascades Highway.
Flames are not threatening a historic 1933 fire lookout, officials said, but several trails in the area have been closed and access across the dam is restricted.
Motorists are asked to avoid stopping on the roadside for photos and deploying drones.
Aerial firefighting operations were paused earlier in the week because of drones, officials said.
