Several fires in North Cascades National Park in Washington state have led to some backcountry camp closures.
Increased winds and low humidity Wednesday created increased fire activity on the Chilliwack Complex. Two of the four lightning-caused fires (Copper Lake and Brush Creek Fire) experienced growth and likely would merge into one fire in the Copper Loop and Whatcom Pass areas of the national park, a park release said. An additional fire, Little Beaver Creek Fire, was detected and estimated at one-quarter acre in size. The Chilliwack Complex is estimated 4,538 acres.
A pack bridge and a suspension bridge that were both potentially threatened by the Brush Creek Fire were plumbed with pumps, hose, and sprinklers. The fire was about 1,000 feet away and backing towards the pack bridge Wednesday afternoon. The Copper Lake Fire was less than a half-mile from the cable car on Thursday. On Wednesday, firefighters utilized helicopter water buckets on the Little Beaver Creek Fire and planned to continue doing so Thursday.
There were additional trail and camp closures due to fire activity. The full trail and camp closure for the Chilliwack Complex includes the entire Little Beaver Trail, Big Beaver Trail beyond Pumpkin Mountain and Big Beaver camps, Brush Creek, Chilliwack, and Copper Loop trails. Camp closures include all camps between Little Beaver and Boundary camps, and all camps between 39 Mile and Beaver Pass camps. All cross-country zones access from closed trails was prohibited.
Warm, dry, and gusty conditions under northeast winds were in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. A red flag warning was issued for wind gusts to 30 mph and relative humidity as low as 20 percent. Critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue into Sunday with dry and unstable conditions.
Smoke from the area fire was expected to affect the Methow Valley. Visitors with backcountry reservations into the closure area should be aware that permits are cancelled on a rolling basis based on fire activity and conditions. Cancellation notifications and refunds are through the recreation.gov system.
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