Highway 20 closed between Newhalem and Silver Star Campground due to Sourdough and Blue Lake wildfires
information released
The Washington State Department of Transportation in partnership with the Sourdough Fire Incident Northwest Management Team 10 and the U.S. Forest Service extended the closure along State Route 20/North Cascades Highway from milepost 120 in Newhalem to milepost 171 at the Silver Star gate, approximately 22 miles west of Winthrop due to the Sourdough Fire and Blue Lake Fire.
The National Park Service has closed camping, trailheads, overlooks, pullouts and other recreation east of Newhalem due to fire activity. There is no access to North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area from the Bridge Creek trailhead or via Blue Lake, Maple Pass or Twisp Pass. There are no reroutes for the Pacific Crest Trail at this time. Additional details about trail, area and camp closures are available on the North Cascades National Park Service complex website and the U.S. Forest Service alerts website.
During the closure of SR 20, people can use I-90, US 2 and 12 for east-west travel across the state.
WSDOT crews will continue to partner with Incident Management Teams responding to both fires. Road closure information is posted in the real-time travel center and @wsdot_north and @wsdot_east on X/Twitter and updates will be provided as available.
The Sourdough Fire started with a lightning strike on July 29 near Diablo in the steep and rugged terrain of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The Blue Lake Fire began on Aug. 15, approximately 20 miles west of Winthrop on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. A cause has not determined at this time. Sections of SR 20 have been closed since Friday, Aug. 4.
