Seeing the smoke from the Olympic Peninsula?

(Photo sent by Ian)

Thanks for the tips. The plume of smoke to the west is very visible right now – so far as we can tell, this is the Bear Gulch Fire near Lake Cushman, burning across hundreds of acres. The fire is described as “human-caused” and was first reported on Sunday. You can see it on this wildfire dashboard.

ADDED: Comment discussion below suggests this might instead be from a newer fire.

Dan Ciske July 8, 2025 (8:01 pm)

Don’t think so. Seems to be a large brush fire in Thurston County. The Lake Cushman fire is much closer to the mountains. One can verify with maps,

WSB July 8, 2025 (9:40 pm)

Reply

I looked at maps (and linked two). They could be seriously lagging, but the only fire of size anywhere west of the Sound is the one I mentioned. But I’ll keep looking …could have been something new, or short lived.

Dan July 8, 2025 (10:29 pm)

Cushman fire is right up against the southern Olympic peak as viewed from West Seattle. Mt. Elinor.

1994 July 8, 2025 (10:43 pm)

Or perhaps the Toonerville Fire? location is N/W of Belfair in Mason County,

Dan July 8, 2025 (10:54 pm)

This might help, if one is on Alki Beach and looks about due west to Rich’s Passage. The Cushman Fire would be seen, once things clear up, above the Passage, above Bremerton. So sad, we hike to the summit of Mt Elinor quite often, the fire is heading north towards this peak. Another senseless, man caused fire ruining a lovely forest.

Hood Canal Resident July 9, 2025 (6:11 am)

A really good free phone app is Watch Duty, which tracks wildfires across the US. You can also choose up to 3 counties to get up-to-date notifications from your phone. Besides the Bear Gulch Fire( Lake Cushman) there is a new fire in Toonerville (Mason county near Belfair)that has grown in the last 24 hours. That may be where the smoke is coming from that’s visible from West Seattle.

Dan July 9, 2025 (7:11 am)

News today shows 100 acre fire near Belfair. That lines up with the fire smoke in the photo..

Hood Canal Hillbilly July 9, 2025 (8:33 am)

Yep, Toonerville Fire near Belfair in Mason County, now at 120 acres.A pretty cool free app for your phone is Watch Duty, which tracks all wildfires in North America. You can also sign up to receive notifications of fire activity from several counties .