Residents urged to leave danger zone around Bolt Creek Fire

Right now, 16 active wildfires are burning across Washington state. That’s according to data from federal fire officials. That includes the Bolt Creek Fire, north of Skykomish.

It has burned more than 7,600 acres since Saturday.

Firefighters say they are gaining ground and a shift in the weather is helping them attack this fire.

But so far, it is just 2% contained.

Level 3 or “Go now” evacuation orders are still in place for the community of Index. And people in Gold Bar are urged to be prepared to leave if necessary.

Four hundred firefighters from across the Northwest are on the ground battling the fire.

It is an astonishing number — firefighters from the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and even Arizona are all here to fight the Bolt Creek Fire.

One big issue is the air quality. It has been bad all over but it has been decidedly worse the closer one gets to the fire zone.

You don’t have to live near the Bolt Creek Fire to have seen it — ashes have been falling from the sky like snowflakes. The air is choked with smoke from a fire that moved so quickly, it quadrupled in size in just two days.

“The thing is that these fires are affecting us all,” said Erick Brown.

His family has a cabin in the shadow of the Bolt Creek Fire. So far, the cabin, along with everything else but an outhouse, has been spared. But the smoke-filled air has been like a blanket over the entire area.

“Waking up and it feels like the world is on fire,” lamented Erick Brown. “Feeling like everything you know is going up in flames.”

For most of the weekend, the Bolt Creek Fire was moving at a fast clip. A little rain and a shift in the wind have helped firefighters gain ground on the fire. But firefighters insist the danger persists.

“Yeah, that’s been our number safety message right now is anybody in the Level 3 should evacuate,” said Peter Mongillo, a spokesman for the Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue. “Because in the event that anything happens, fire crews have to deal with their safety and on top of that their structure.”

“When the guy knocked on my door, I went out on my deck and I saw the fire,” said Tobin Wightman.

That was how Wightman and his wife ended up at the Red Cross shelter. They live in Baring, one of two communities in the path of the Bolt Creek Fire. But they got out — reluctantly — and only because someone knocked at their door.

“It’s a highway, you know,” insisted Wightman. “Unless the trees are right next to you or burning, it’s not a particular danger.”

And he is not alone. Another property owner in Index says he and his wife are fighting to protect their 10 acres. And they won’t leave until the flames are a block away.

Firefighters say their message is still the same: Get out, for safety’s sake.

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