08/29/2023 Blue Lake Fire Update

8/29/2023

The changing weather conditions will dictate today's operations. Crews continue to work on several operational objectives, including looking for opportunities to limit fire spread on several flanks of the fire and mitigating hazard trees along SR 20.

North of SR 20, crews are patrolling and enhancing containment lines and securing fire edges as well looking for opportunities to go direct if conditions allow; South of SR 20 near Copper Creek crews are monitoring burned out areas, connecting handlines, and improving containment; on the eastern flank of the fire, crews are securing and monitoring the fire's edge to prevent spread to Washington Pass; and on the southern edge of the fire, crews are working to keep the fire north of Copper Creek to prevent the fires spread to the North Cascades National Park. 

The Blue Lake Fire is currently 1056 acres and 31% contained. 

SR 20 North Cascades Highway is CLOSED between Newhalem (milepost 120) and Silver Star SnoPark (milepost 171) as of 3:30 yesterday.  There is currently no estimated time for re-opening.  Fire crews will be mitigating hazard trees along the road. WSDOT crews will remain in close contact with the Incident Management Teams to assess conditions on a daily basis.  Please do not disregard closures, they are in place for your safety and the safety of firefighters.  Cross state travel is possible using US 2, US 12 or I-90. 

For more information, check WSDOT pass report for SR20 https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/mountainpasses/North-Cascade-Hwy The Blue 

Lake Fire is under a temporary flight restriction – no drone deployment is permitted. If you fly, we can’t. Trail and area closures are in effect.  For detailed closure information visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/okawen/alerts-notices/?aid=82649

The Pacific Crest Trail is closed through this area. Check PCTA for closure information https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/closures/washington/. Closures are also in effect for areas of North Cascades National Park due to the Blue Lake Fire. 

See https://www.nps.gov/noca for more information.