SR 410 reopens between Sumner and Bonney Lake after wildfire
Sep 15, 2020, 5:37 AM
Local firefighters are working to contain the Sumner Grade Fire located in Pierce County, near Bonney Lake. (Photo courtesy of East Pierce Fire on Twitter)
(Photo courtesy of East Pierce Fire on Twitter)
SUMNER, Wash. — After a week long closure during the Sumner Grade Fire, a two-mile stretch of SR 410 is back open between Sumner and Bonney Lake.
The fire is now 85% contained, and the highway reopened at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
It’s welcome news after road closures wreaked havoc on people’s drive times in the area.
Over the weekend, Washington State Department of Transportation crews cleaned debris out of drainage systems along the highway. Crews also swept the highway, reset the center median barrier and replaced a scorched guardrail system along both directions of SR 410. Crews replaced more than 120 guardrail posts.
But now that a hillside along the highway is stripped of vegetation, some are concerned about mudslides when heavy rain returns.
WSDOT said in the coming weeks crews will monitor the highway for any debris or erosion issues. There may be single lane closures in the 2-mile section when work crews are present.
Meanwhile, SR 410 remains closed in and east of Enumclaw in the area of Mud Mountain Dam Road. WSDOT said the highway will remain closed for several more weeks due to hot spots from a wildfire and trees and rocks falling from the burnt slope above the highway.
