NEWHALEM, Wash. — State Route 20 in the North Cascades closed again due to wildfire activity on Saturday.
The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the SR 20, also known as North Cascades Highway, between milepost 120 in Newhalem and milepost 171 - approximately 22 miles west of Winthrop.
During the road closure, drivers can use Interstate 90, Highway 2 and Highway 12 for east-west travel.
The National Park Service has closed camping, trailheads, overlooks and other recreation east of Newhalem. There is no access to North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area from the Bridge Creek trailhead or Blue Lake, Maple Pass or Twisp Pass. There are no reroutes for the Pacific Crest Trail.
The closure comes as the Sourdough Fire and Blue Lake Fire continue to burn in the area. The fire started with a lightning strike on July 29 near Diablo in steep terrain in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area.
As of Saturday, Aug. 26, the Sourdough Fire burned 6,100 acres and was 25% contained. The Blue Lake Fire burned 555 acres and was 37% contained. The fire began Aug. 15 about 20 miles west of Winthrop in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. A caused has not been determined.
Sections of State Route 20 have been closed off and on since Aug. 4.
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