Update: Washington state threw more machines and firefighters into the fray of a wildfire burning west of Port Angeles on Sunday.
The blaze in timber near Lake Sutherland grew to 35 hectares on Sunday, fuelled by strong overnight winds. Burning on state land 27 kilometres from Port Angeles and close to Olympic National Park, the blaze was discovered Saturday at about 1 p.m. and has quickly spread.
Smoke from the fire is visible across the Salish Sea from Victoria.
Thomas Kyle-Milward of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources said additional resources have been brought in. Teams are using six fire engines, two helicopters and two scooper planes collecting water off Lake Sutherland to fight the flames. Two teams of 10 firefighters are on the ground and three task-force leaders are co-ordinating operations.
The national parks service has also brought in fuel tankers to keep the machinery flying.
Crews were being rotated with fresh reserves at 6 p.m. Sunday.
“There is less wind today and some chance for possible precipitation,” said Kyle-Milward, adding the footprint of the fire hasn’t changed much in the past several hours.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but two investigators are at the scene, he said.
Washington state has had more than 500 wildfires this spring burning 1,160 hectares.
Like British Columbia, the state is dry from little rain and a prolonged drought. “It’s one of the lowest of amounts of precipitation on record for the month of May and there is a lot of dry fuel,” said Kyle-Milward. “We’re starting to see the impact of that now.”
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Earlier story.
Strong winds are fuelling a rapidly moving wildfire near Port Angeles, Washington, and the smoke is visible from the Victoria waterfront across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The fire was discovered at 1 p.m. Saturday and has grown to 20 hectares over a few hours, said Thomas Kyle-Milward of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
The Sutherland Fire, named for nearby Lake Sutherland about 27 kilometres west of Port Angeles, is being fanned by strong westerly winds. It’s currently burning in heavy timber on state land on the edge of Olympic National Park.
“It’s moving at a pace due to the strong wind,” said Kyle-Milward.
Three helicopters, four engines and a pair of 10-person hand crews were working to battle the fire by 5 p.m. Saturday, he said.
The cause isn’t immediately known and a fire investigator is en route, said Kyle-Milward.
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