ROCKPORT, Wash. — State Route 20 North Cascades Highway closed again on Thursday after reopening Wednesday. Before that, it was closed for several days due to the wildfire activity from the Sourdough Fire.
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the highway is closed between Newhalem milepost 120 and milepost 146 while crews continue to battle the flames. There is no estimated time for reopening.
When the road was closed Friday night between milepost 120 in Newhalem and milepost 156 near Rainy Day Pass, drivers were diverted to Interstate 90 and US 2.
The Sourdough Fire started in late July after a lightning strike. It grew from 534 acres to 2,933 acres Friday, but was adjusted to 1,397 Sunday. It grew slightly to 1,700 acres Tuesday.
It is 0% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to Inciweb. A total of 340 personnel are currently fighting the fire, which is burning within the North Cascades National Park.
The fire inversion lifted Friday afternoon, which increased fire activity and caused the fire to grow, according to the fire officials. The fire grew westward crossing Stetattle Creek, eastward toward Sourdough Creek and northward toward the top of Sourdough Mountain. It has backed down to Diablo Dam Road and most of the way to the Environmental Learning Center.
Crews took measures to protect the Environmental Learning Center. Structure protection assessments from Diablo to Newhalem are expected to take place Saturday. Assessments from Ross Dam to Big Beaver Creek began Friday and are expected to continue Saturday.
The Ross Lake Resort was evacuated after power was lost Thursday, the Southern Area Gray Incident Management Team confirmed. Evacuations began Thursday at the resort, although there are no active evacuation orders in effect for the area at this time.
The public information officer for the Southern Area Gray Incident Management Team said people likely won't be able to return to the resort until the firefighting efforts are complete.
Seattle City Light evacuated employees and residents from the town of Diablo on Thursday.
Diablo Dam Road and Diablo Road remain closed.
Fire impacting tourism along SR 20
Robert Reale, the co-owner of North Cascades Inn and Upriver Grill, said he's noticed traffic dry up since fire activity picked up in North Cascades National Park.
"If it gets smoky some people still come to visit the great area and hopefully it's not a repeat of 2014 when you couldn't see across the road from the Newhalem fire," Reale said.
Reale said he's noticed some cancellations at his small hotel due to the fire, but despite that, rooms stay full as he does what he can to help crews on the frontlines.
"Any cancellations we get, we've been trying to get the fire crews, a lot of them are staying in tents, we try and get them into the hotel, whenever we do have a cancellation and feed them," Reale said. "This morning I ran a bunch of breakfast foods from the restaurant up to Newhalem."
Reale appreciates the work of the hundreds of firefighting personnel working around the clock to contain the fire and protect the national park.
"Save a good chunk of that beautiful area that goes north of Diablo Lake as we spent… the whole reason for moving here is to be able to enjoy those beautiful areas up there," Reale said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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