— by Margie Doyle —
Orcas Fire and Rescue Chief Mik Preysz announced at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, July 5, that the smoke islanders are observing is from a fire at Portage Island in Bellingham Bay.
Firefighters from the Department of Natural Resources are fighting the Portage Island fire, and further information will be coming from Chief Preysz as soon as possible.
Preysz advises that all burning will be prohibited by this Friday, and that only barbecue and charcoal briquet burning will be allowed.
(from The Bellingham Herald by Ralph Schwartz):
A fast-moving fire on the south end of Portage Island forced holiday campers to evacuate.
No one was injured in the fire, which had burned an estimated five acres of forestland on the undeveloped island by 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 4. Multiple reports of smoke and flames started coming into 911 dispatch at 4:03 p.m.
“It’s burned from the beach on the south part of the island up into the trees,” said Bill Hewett, assistant chief for Fire District 8 in Marietta, which was the first fire crew on the scene.
After climbing quickly up a steep slope, the fire began to creep through timber on flatter terrain, Department of Natural Resources fire spokesman Chris Hankey said. DNR took over command of the fire from the Marietta fire district.
(Read more here: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article26520439)
Yes there is a fire on the 1.4sq mile Portage Island, however this haze is coming from BC where the Vancouver Sun is reporting the haze blanketing the city of Vancouver. The BC forest service is reporting 66 wild fires 3 of which aprox 30 miles NW of Vancouver. Prevailing winds and smoke density are most likely to continue for the next 3 to 4 days. .
https://www.vancouversun.com/news/Smoke+creates+eerie+morning+coast/11189684/story.html
As much as we are all supposed to love fireworks, I can’t help thinking they are highly dangerous during these drought conditions. My first 4th on Orcas and honestly I was surprised at how many were going off in the Doe Bay area.
We live on the northwest face of Mt.Constitution at 1700 feet and this haze is definitely coming from BC. The smell of smoke is very strong and we are to the point where Sucia and Patos are almost hidden in the haze.
Thanks for the reporting and the comments! It’s very hazy up on Vusario. I noticed it around 7:15 this morning – the sky looked weird. And when I opened the door I got a faint smell of smoke which has intensified throughout the day.
Very very intense smoke here on Key Drive, off of Raccoon Pt Road and on the edge of Buck Mountain facing Puffin and Lumi Islands. So thick all day that we had to retreat to the basement and then headed off to Eastsound for dinner to escape the heavy haze.
I’m afraid that it must be difficult for many of us to take the Fire Danger seriously. I posted a comment that I hoped that fireworks would be cancelled and took some grief over it. If we truly love this place we live then doing without fireworks is such a small price to pay to keep it safe! Merry