Bolt Creek Fire burns nearly 8,000 acres near Skykomish, remains 2% contained

SKYKOMISH, Wash. — The skies are clearing in the Puget Sound region after a smoky weekend caused by the Bolt Creek Fire, which started early Saturday morning.

The fire, which is just 2% contained as of 9 a.m. Monday, has burned an estimated 7,660 acres in King County north of Skykomish.

Officials say the fire has damaged just one building and they still do not know what started it.

The wildfire showed minor growth overnight into Monday as more than 300 firefighters continued working to protect the area.

The flames marching through Snohomish County are in some hard-to-access areas but they've also burned right down to the shoulder of Hwy 2

“So the morning of, we drove right by the fire. We actually saw it and we could see the smoke billowing and everything in the hills,” said Ryan Coxey, who lives in Index but packed up his family when evacuation orders were announced. “It wasn't worth the risk of waiting it out, in my opinion."

AirNow says those in the Puget Sound region are doing better with air quality as it measured at moderate Monday. However, go over the Cascades and it moves to unhealthy for sensitive groups and unhealthy quite quickly. You can see the interactive map here.

Travelers are asked to remember US 2 is still shut down from milepost 32 to milepost 50, if you take the highway you need to use caution and watch for fire-fighting vehicles. Some of the trees along Hwy 2 are so badly burned they could topple across the roadway and need to be cut down before traffic can return, according to state road crews.

“You look at all these trees, everything. All these trees could fall in the road once they burn out,” said Xander Demetrios, who lives just outside of Index.

The Sultan School District was also closed Monday due to unhealthy air quality.

The city of Index remains at a Level 3 (GO now!) evacuation, while those between Index and Zeke’s are at Level 2 (Set) and Zeke’s to Gold Bar east city limits are under level 1 evacuation orders (Ready).

Officials with Snohomish County say about 50% of those told to evacuate have. If you have not left, you’re asked to reconsider.

There have not been any reported deaths or injuries from the Bolt Creek Fire as of Monday afternoon.