Bear Gulch Fire
Partofthe 2025 Washington wildfires
LocationOlympic National Forest, Mason County, Washington
Area20,233 acres (8,188 ha; 81.88 km2)
Percent contained100%
Coordinates47°29′45″N 123°18′08″W[1]
Time-beginJuly 6, 2025
Time-endNovember 12, 2025
Fatalities0
Injuries0
CauseHuman
Structures0
Cost$42.6 million[2]

The Bear Gulch Fire was a wildfire that began on July 6, 2025, on the north side of Lake Cushman near Mount Rose in the Olympic National Forest.[3] It was the largest fire on the Olympic Peninsula since the Great Forks Fire in 1951.[4] As of 12 November 2025, it had burned 20,233 acres (8,188 ha) and is 100% contained.[1]

The fire was caused by human activity.[5][1]

Events

"Go now" evacuations from Copper Creek/Staircase Campground area due to Bear Gulch Fire were ordered on July 30.[6] Staircase Campground was ordered evacuated on July 31.[7] Haze from the fire reached Seattle and other Puget Sound communities the same week.[8] The fire caused unhealthy air conditions in Bellevue on August 4.[9] On August 12, the fire caused pyrocumulus clouds to form,[10] and darkened the skies around the central Puget Sound area, including Seattle.[11] The pyrocumulus cloud above the fire was visible from Whatcom County near Canada to Ocean Shores on the state's central Pacific coast.[4][12]

Fire managers reported "wetting rains" beginning September 29 and expected to continue, that would mitigate risk of fire spread.[13] Meteorologist Cliff Mass said the wet weather would "close out the fire season" around the beginning of October;[14] the season was declared over on October 27 by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.[15]

The fire was reported 100% contained on November 12.[1]

Crew arrests

United States Department of Homeland Security officers arrested two firefighters during a U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation on August 27 as fire crews were setting up on Lake Cushman.[16][17][18] One of the firefighters had applied for a U visa in the past, or a family member had done so on his behalf.[19] He was released following a habeas corpus demand around September 24.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bear Gulch Fire". Inciweb fire information system. U.S. Government interagency National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
  2. ^ "Bear Gulch - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.independentmail.com. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  3. ^ "Bear Gulch Fire grows past 8,700 acres as crews brace for more hot weather". Seattle: KIRO-TV. August 25, 2025.
  4. ^ Isabella Breda (August 24, 2025). "Inside the fight to slow down WA's roller coaster Bear Gulch fire". The Seattle Times
  5. ^ Johnson, Shea (August 23, 2025). "Crews are battling the Bear Gulch Fire in a heat wave. What it could mean". The Olympian. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  6. ^ "Level 3 evacuations remain in place for Bear Gulch Fire in Mason County, WA". KCPQ. 2025-07-30. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  7. ^ "Bear Gulch Fire grows to nearly 2,000 acres". Seattle: KIRO-TV. July 31, 2025.
  8. ^ https://mynorthwest.com/local/bear-gulch-fire-puget-sound/4115142
  9. ^ Mellits, Mara (August 4, 2025). "'Unhealthy' wildfire smoke billows into Seattle, Bellevue". The Seattle Times
  10. ^ Morgan Palmer (August 12, 2025). "Bear Gulch wildfire smoke creates its own cloud formation". Seattle: KIRO-TV.
  11. ^ "Smoke from Bear Gulch Fire creates hazy sunset across Puget Sound". Seattle: KING-TV. August 13, 2025. – via MSN.
  12. ^ Ryan, John (August 14, 2025). "Smoke, sprinklers, aluminum foil: Fighting fire on the Olympic Peninsula". Seattle: KUOW.
  13. ^ "Bear Gulch Fire daily update". Inciweb. October 1, 2025.
  14. ^ Cliff Mass (September 27, 2025). "A Below-Normal Wildfire Year". Cliff Mass weather blog. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  15. ^ Nance Beston (October 28, 2025). "Fire season officially ends in Washington". Columbia Basin Herald. – via Yahoo! News.
  16. ^ "Federal agents arrest 2 on crew battling the state's largest blaze". The Seattle Times. August 8, 2025. p. A1.
  17. ^ Smith, Helen (August 28, 2025). "2 firefighters working on Bear Gulch Fire arrested by Homeland Security". KING-TV.
  18. ^ Ives, Mike (August 28, 2025). "Immigration Officials Conduct Operation at Wildfire Site in Washington State". The New York Times
  19. ^ Joni Auden Land (September 19, 2025). "Attorneys press for release of Oregon firefighter detained by federal immigration officials"
  20. ^ Troy Brynelson (September 24, 2025). "ICE releases Oregon firefighter arrested last month during Bear Gulch Fire". Oregon Public Broadcasting.