Highway 12 Still Closed Firefighters Battle Flames

Highway 12 over White Pass remains closed Wednesday as firefighters continue to battle the Cold Creek Fire that started on Monday. When the fire was discovered it was at about 60 acres. Firefighters say the fire grew to 96 acres overnight with zero containment. The blaze burning about 6 miles from the White pass ski area jumped the highway late yesterday afternoon. 50 to 60 people are working on the fire Today. A news release from Yakima Valley Emergency Management on Tuesday talked about evacuation notices.
"Level 2 "Be Set" Evacuation Notices are in effect. The fire is located along the area of Highway 12 between Dog Lake and Clear Lake. The evacuation notice encompasses areas around Clear Lake and Rimrock Lake, including areas on both sides of US 12."
There's no estimate when the road will reopen. No injuries have been reported.

Fire officials say it started at about 8:30 p.m. Monday.
At about the same time Monday night the Yakima County Sheriff's Office Mountain Rescue team was called out to recover a man who had fallen down an embankment in the same area as the fire. There's no known connection however between the rescue of the man and the fire. On Sunday night deputies were called to the same area for a vehicle over the embankment but at that time they were unable to find the driver.