Local News

In this photo, state Transportation Department crews work to get one lane open for emergency vehicles on the Mount Baker Highway. More than 175 trees and some six feet of snow have fallen on the highway since Friday. (Photo / WSDOT)

UPDATE | The Mount Baker Highway reopened at 4 p.m. today. The Washington State Department of Transportation says it cleared more than 175 fallen trees and 6 feet of snow from the roadway.

EARLIER POST | If the weather behaves and the more than 175 trees and the six feet of snow that have fallen on the Mount Baker Highway since Friday are cleared, the roadway is expected to reopen by 6 p.m. today, according to the state Transportation Department.

That should make skiers happy because the road has been closed 10 miles west of the ski area since Tuesday. The DOT says the highway should be ready for folks wanting to hit the slopes this weekend.

Clearing the highway had been unsafe for days due to high winds. Crews working three excavators and a front loader began tackling the tangled trees and the snow this morning after the wind, rain and snow subsided a bit, according to the DOT.

Be warned, though, that if you’re heading that way tomorrow, you should be prepared for winter conditions. Carrying chains is required and may be needed this weekend.

There are more photos of the mess made by all the snow and those downed trees.

A Mount Baker Highway closure is likely to continue into the weekend because heavy snow has snapped more than 100 trees onto the roadway, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The road is closed east of Maple Falls, about 10 miles west of the Mount Baker Ski Area, which is also closed. Crews tried cleaning up the road Wednesday, but had to stop when more wind, rain and snow made cleanup too hazardous.

When weather conditions improve, crews will get back to work, a WSDOT release said.

Nearly 100 trees collapsed under the weight of snow near Mount Baker Highway in a 24-hour period, according to WSDOT. (WSDOT photo)

Highways in the Mount Baker area and near Hood Canal have been closed after heavy snow caused scores of trees to fall across the roadway in the past 24 hours.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has closed the Mount Baker Highway (state Route 542) east of Maple Falls until at least Friday, excluding everyone except emergency personnel from the Mount Baker ski area.

Parts of Highways 101 and 106 in Mason County are closed as well until further notice. The 41-mile closure of 101 stretches from Route 3 near Shelton to Brinnon and the five-mile closure of Highway 106 stretches from Purdy Cutoff Road to East Dalby Road.

Transit workers tried to keep the roads open but couldn’t keep up with the number of trees falling onto the highways. Hazardous conditions have suspended efforts to clean up the roads any more today but workers will return tomorrow morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Crews say it’s unusual to see this many trees come down in such a short period of time.