Single Publication

Western Washington Incident Management Team 3 

Incident Commander: Kent Stanford 

Estimated size: 11,674 acres      Cause: Undetermined      

Resources: 154 personnel – One type-1 hotshot crew, one type-2 initial attack hand crew, two hand crews, one helicopter, 13 engines, one dozer, one water tender and 78 overhead.  

US 2 CLOSED: US 2 is closed between mile marker 46 and 50 due to fire activity and falling trees along the road.  

Fire Update: Another day of hot and dry weather—along with 10-15 mph west winds in the afternoon—contributed to more fire spread and smoke output yesterday as firefighters continued to fall hazard trees, run hoselays near homes and clear debris off US 2. A fixed tank helicopter was utilized to drop water in the area near the Halford structure on the western edge of the fire, which saw a brief increase in fire behavior with afternoon winds. Crews also worked to improve hand and dozer lines around homes in this area. On the east edge of the fire, a hotshot crew and falling module worked to remove hazardous trees in areas near properties off Beckler Road. The fire continues to slowly back down to the southern containment line at a rate of about 50 feet an hour. While today may not be as wet as previously anticipated—with less than a .10 of an inch of precipitation possible according to current forecasts—a noticeable cooling trend will contribute to diminish fire spread and smoke output through Thursday night. This brief shift in conditions will bring much higher humidities, lower temperatures and more cloud cover, which will effectively put a “cap” on the fire through Friday. However, no significant rain events are being forecasted for the foreseeable future over the fire area.  

Weather: Mostly cloudy today with temperatures in the mid-50s on ridges and 65-75 in valleys. Humidity will hover between 50 and 70 percent, and winds are expected at 5-10 mph from the west on ridges, gusting to 15-20 mph.  

September 28, 2022 Morning operations briefing: https://youtu.be/1SflZ95oc0s 

Evacuation Levels: Evacuation levels changed on Sunday due to weather and increased fire activity around Skykomish.  

• Level 1 (Ready): Index. 

• Level 1 (Ready): South of U.S. 2 near Index, including Index Estates and the Lake Serene Trailhead. 

• Level 1 (Ready): East of Skykomish, from the Beckler River to Forest Service Road 66, north and south of U.S. 2 including Foss River Road. 

• No other evacuation guidance for occupied areas of Snohomish County. 

• Level 2 (Set): Baring and Grotto and area along U.S. 2 east to the Money Creek tunnel continues. 

• Level 2 (Set): Skykomish – Get set to leave on short notice. Formerly Level 1 (Ready). 

• Residents in the area should remain vigilant. The area remains hazardous. Conditions could change quickly, and evacuations may again become necessary. 

• Level 3 (Go): From west side of Money Creek tunnel to milepost 48, plus FS Road 65 (Beckler River Road). 

Evacuations/ Emergency Alert Systems: 

King County: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/emergency-management/alert-king-county.aspx               

Snohomish County: https://snohomish-county-public-safety-hub-snoco-gis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/wildfire 

Smoke: Increased smoke production is anticipated. Current information on air quality may be found at Washington Smoke Blog at https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/ 

Forest Closure: The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has implemented an Emergency Closure on National Forest lands. Roads, trails, and campgrounds are closed. To read the closure in its entirety, please see:  MBSNF Bolt Creek Fire Closure. A burn ban remains in effect until significant rain is received. Please refrain from burning.  

Fire Information Phone: (360) 370-4170     Email: 2022.boltcreek@firenet.gov 

Inciweb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8417   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boltcreekfireinfo