Expand / Collapse search
☰

Highway 20 reopens as North Cascades wildfire danger eases after rainfall

Published  August 31, 2015 6:49am PDT
Associated Press

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Highway 20 through the North Cascades National Park has reopened after being closed more than a week due to wildfires.

The Bellingham Herald reports that the highway opened around noon Sunday after rainfall over the weekend reduced the fires' threat. Several fires were sparked by lightening in early August in timber and underbrush in the area.

The North Cascades National Park visitor center was also scheduled to open Sunday, as well as several campgrounds in the area.

Washington Department of Transportation crews have cleared the highway of burned trees and checked nearby slopes for landslide dangers.

The fires in the area have burned a total of 8,505 acres and are nearly 70 percent contained. Cost of the fires is estimated at $1.6 million.