Upper Finney Chute Declared Wildfire 2024

On Monday September 30th, 2024, the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Mt Baker Ranger District, in Snohomish County Washington, began pile burning operations in the Upper Finney-Chute Timber Sale area, a fairly typical project for the district at that time of year. While patrolling the Upper Finney-Chute units on Wednesday October 2nd it was discovered that fire had
spread through un-piled slash in some locations, and a plastic culvert had been burned. On the morning of Friday October 4th a full size up of the situation was made, finding that piles from a timber harvest on private lands had been inadvertently lit by Forest Service resources earlier that week. In addition to the damaged culvert, it was estimated that approximately 30-40 acres of fire had spread out from the piled areas and that young conifer reproduction had been impacted. In consideration of the fact that fire had been established on private land by actions of the Forest Service and that WADNR resources would be needed to suppress the resulting fire spread, the Upper Finney Chute Prescribed Fire was declared the Gee Lake Wildfire on the afternoon of October 4th.