Work to contain Bolt Creek fire now 79% complete; Highway 2 restricted

SKYKOMISH, Wash. – Highway 2 remains closed to all but local residents between the towns of Index and Skykomish as firefighters continue to battle the Bolt Creek fire.

The fire, which has rained debris over the cross-mountain corridor, had burned an estimated 10,220 acres by Sunday night, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.

Firefighters, meanwhile, have changed their strategy for controlling and describing progress on the Bolt Creek fire, according to Andy Nesmith, a spokesperson for the fire effort.

Nesmith said Monday that firefighters have decided to allow the north portion of the fire – which is creeping slowly through the steep and craggy Wild Sky Wilderness – to burn because that part of the fire isn’t threatening roads, structures or people, and crews have little access to the area.

Firefighters are actively fighting the southern half of the fire, which closed Highway 2 and prompted evacuations, Nesmith said.

The goal there is to prevent future spread of the fire to the west and east. As of Monday morning, 79% of that work had been completed, Nesmith said.