Smoke from wildfire in Washington state visible in Victoria

CHEK
WatchSmoke from the wildfire in Olympic National Park in Washington state was visible in Victoria on July 30, 2020.

Some areas of Greater Victoria are seeing and smelling smoke coming from a wildfire north of Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park in Washington state.

According to Jared Low, public information officer for Olympic National Park, a 63-acre (24-hectare) wildland fire is currently burning on the steep slope above East Beach Road in the park. The fire is leading to the smoky haze on parts of Vancouver Island.

Low said fire crews got the call about the fire at around 4 p.m. PDT July 29. The fire grew overnight from five to 10 acres (two to four hectares) to 30 acres (12 hectares), before growing again throughout Thursday.

There were crews working on the fire overnight and firefighters continue to be on scene today, led by Olympic National Park Fire Management.  Two helicopters are also being used to fight the fire.

Low has described the area as having steep, rugged terrain. There are vacation homes in the area.

“The fire is burning primarily on a south facing slope in steep heavy timber with shrub understory and is being pushed uphill by terrain driven winds. Heavy smoke and isolated single tree torching may be visible in the coming days as there is a warm dry weather pattern expected for the region,” an afternoon release from the park states. ”

East Beach Road in Olympic National Park is closed at the intersection with Highway 101 for public safety. Day-use recreation sites along East Beach Road in Olympic National Park are closed to the public at this time.

According to the park, smoke levels will vary in response to weather and fire activity. There is no evacuation underway.

The fire is suspected of being human ignited and the cause and origin are under investigation. The park does have a danger alert on its website for all visitors.

For updated information please visit http://www.nps.gov/olym. 

Here is an aerial photo of the East Beach Road fire in Olympic National Park in Washington state. Photo from Olympic National Park. 

An aerial photo of the East Beach Road fire in Olympic National Park in Washington state (Olympic National Park)

For more photos of the East Beach Road fire, visit photographer Jesse Major’s website here.

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