Traffic reopens after brush fire east of Monroe

Travelers will need to wait or find another way around as the highway was closed at Main Street.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Monroe in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118

MONROE — A brush fire east of Monroe prompted the Monday morning closure of eastbound U.S. 2.

At 5:48 a.m., Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue was dispatched near Old Owen Road and Main Street. Initial reports were of “an orange glow with embers in a wooded area,” according to a department press release.

When fire crews arrived, they found the fire growing a quarter-mile east, on the south side of the railroad tracks. They estimated it to be about 30-feet-by-30-feet in grass, trees and brush, according to fire officials. The fire was consuming an outdoor cooking space and spreading.

BNSF shut down rail service. And the Washington State Patrol blocked eastbound traffic starting at Main Street because of the fire, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The highway reopened by 7:27 a.m.

Crews knocked the fire down quickly. By the time two state Department of Natural Resources crews arrived from the Bolt Creek fire response to the east, the fire was under control.

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