Evacuations remain in place as crews battle Sourdough Fire

Air and ground crews continue to fight the Sourdough fire burning in Whatcom County, which had grown to 1,440 acres as of Monday. 

The fire is burning in a remote area where the terrain is rugged and steep, which is why crews are attacking the fire from the sky, said Mark Enty, public information officer for Northwest Incident Management Team 10.

“The operations helicopters are crucial to getting water to the remote areas of the fire,” Enty said. “Sometimes there’s places where delivering equipment is just not possible because there’s not a road or a system of roads to get out there.”

Some crews are getting equipment in by boat across Ross Lake.

Evacuation orders are still in place for the Diablo community and the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. State route 20 remains closed from Newhalem to Rainy Pass.

The fire is at 0% containment. Firefighters are working the fire from all angles and are assessing for structure defense. 

“Crews are gonna focus on those values at risk like buildings and structures, and then using helicopters to make sure that we’re supporting those boots on the ground where they’re not able to get to,” Enty said. 

Crews will be getting water plumbed into more areas around Ross Lake Resort for firefighters to use, if necessary, Enty said. The resort remains closed because of the fire.