‘Bear Gulch Fire’ by My Beloved Mount Rose

It’s wildfire season on the West Coast of the United States and this year the fires arrive early than usual even in Western Washington. This one, the ‘Bear Gulch Fire‘ hits home:

On July 6, a human-caused fire was reported in Olympic National Forest near the Mt. Rose Trailhead along the Lake Cushman Corridor. The fire – named the Bear Gulch Fire – is burning on a steep, rocky slope north of Lake Cushman and southeast of the Staircase area of Olympic National Park.

And yes, you read this correctly: the fire is human-caused. It was discovered just a couple days after Fourth of July in an area well-known for folks letting off illegal fireworks. You can put the pieces together yourself.

Mt. Rose is one of mine and many of my friends’ favorite training route, just an hour from my hometown Olympia. As of last night the fire has reached the summit of Mount Rose, which is extra heartbreaking:

A Type 3 Incident Management Team will manage the operation going forward. The team has ordered an infrared survey to get a better picture of the fire’s size and spread. The fire has reached the top of Mount Rose but hasn’t crossed to the other side.

I’m linking here to the Olympic National Forest’s Facebook page, which seems to have the most up-to-date information, for whatever reason.

What makes this particular fire extra precarious to me is that I’d just a few miles from Rock Candy Running’s Beast of Big Creek race course. And with just three weeks until race weekend, I will monitor this one extra closely. Fingers crossed for cooler weather and changes in wind direction.