INDEX, Wash. — Despite the Bolt Creek Fire threatening homes along US 2 between Skykomish and Index, only about half the people asked to evacuate have actually done so.
Kim Protasiewicz was loading up at a grocery store Monday outside Index before locking back down. Her home is under Level 3 mandatory evacuation orders, but she says she’s not leaving.
“It’s our home, we want to stay and protect it. There’s a few other people doing the same thing. If our house is going to burn we’re going to stay and watch it burn I guess,” Protasiewicz said.
The Bolt Creek Fire burned up to 8,000 acers over the weekend.
On Monday, schools were closed as residents are hoping relief will come soon.
“We did get prepared, we did. And we’ve been keeping sprinklers going, hoses going. We had a lot of debris coming down, so we kept an eye on that,” Protasiewicz said.
Maggie Buck lives in Gold Bar – right on the line of evacuations. She said she’s ready to counter should the fire decide to jab.
“We just pack up the most important stuff and just leave the rest to chance. If it goes it goes. We got our lives, we got our dogs, that’s the most important things. Everything else can be recovered after that,” Buck said.
While crews work to contain the blaze those who live near the fire say they’ll remain ready to go until the final flame is out.
The fire is approximately 2% contained. Heavy smoke is making it difficult for firefighters and air support, however. Crews still hadn't been able to put water on the flames or get a good sense of how many acres were burning because of winds and the smoke.
Aerials: Smoke from the Bolt Creek Fire