Firestorms Ravage the Snoqualmie and Skykomish Valleys
A massive wildfire has destroyed timber, bridges, and the entire settlement of Wellington, forcing settlers to flee for their lives.
The story, cleaned up
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A great forest fire has been raging for the last three days through the upper Snoqualmie country, the Skykomish valley, and the summit of Stevens Pass, destroying vast bodies of timber, several cabins, county and railroad bridges, and the entire village of Wellington at the west foot of the Great Northern switchback. The fire in the Snoqualmie valley started Thursday at the eastern end of Sallal prairie, sweeping west and north toward North Bend. A party of volunteers saved the ranch of a settler named Fritz near North Bend, but other homesteads, including those of L. W. Gore and A. L. Rutherford, were destroyed. The trail between Preston and Kenny's mines is blocked by fire and fallen timber. Further north, rancher Rush Cameron only escaped by digging a hole in the ground and crawling into it to survive the heat. At Wellington, the fire burned Bridge No. 12, a 200-foot structure, halting Great Northern traffic and necessitating passenger transfers.
“Rush Cameron, a rancher ten miles north, only escaped by digging a hole in the ground and crawling into it.”
Wildfire remains a critical, recurring threat to the I-90 and Highway 2 corridors that connect the Puget Sound to the Cascades. While modern forest management and fire response have evolved, the vulnerability of remote mountain towns and infrastructure remains an echo of the 1893 devastation.
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