Motorhome Sparks Wildfire That Closes Blewett Pass

U.S. Highway 97 over Blewett Pass is reopened this morning after a brush fire shut down a portion of the highway yesterday evening.

The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office says the blaze sparked at around 4 p.m. when a motorhome caught fire on the shoulder of the roadway and flames quickly spread up an adjacent hillside in brush and timber.

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The fire then spread to both sides of the road and officials closed a 29-mile stretch of the highway from the Lauderdale Junction to just south of the Big Y near Peshastin.

Motorists had to use detours to Interstate-90 and U.S. Highway 2 over Stevens Pass while crews battled the flames, which were fully corralled by around 11 p.m., when Blewett Pass was re-opened.

The motorhome was completely destroyed but no other structures were damaged and no injuries reported.

Officials have yet to say how many acres were blackened by the fire.