Mount Rainier fire continues to burn
Published 10:40 am Monday, August 10, 2026
Firefighters are continuing to fight the Grand Park Fire 2 in Mount Rainier National Park.
The fire, located three miles north of the Sunrise Visitor Center, was first reported on Aug. 7.
The national park closed access to the Sunrise and White River areas and the roads to the campgrounds from SR 410, but the highway remains open as of Aug. 9.
The fire was first estimated to be about 200 acres large. As of Aug. 9, the most recent update provided by the National Park Service, the fire was estimated to be over 300 acres and was 0% contained.
Greenwater/Crystal Mountain Fire Department Chief Paul Sowers has been providing updates on Facebook since the fire was reported; Greenwater is the closest town to the fire.
“None of the estimates are particularly alarming, and the fire activity visible from the top on Crystal Mountain was not particularly vigorous,” he posted on Aug. 9. “… As of now, this fire still poses no threat to the Greenwater and Crystal Mountain communities, and our Fire Departments have no resources assigned to the fire,” he posted on Aug. 9. “We will keep an eye on it as the firefighting efforts continue, and will keep the community up to speed on how the work is progressing.”
Sowers noted that additional fire information can be found on the InciWeb website, an officials U.S. government site for wildfires.
In previous posts, he’s been optimistic about the fire and its spread.
“Often if a fire is going to do anything drastic, this would be the time,” he posted the night of Aug. 8. “While the fire is still visible from the top of Crystal, there was no plume development or signs of the kind of fire behavior that we saw yesterday. The ongoing air operations appear to be having the desired effect.”
The Enumclaw Expo Center became the staging ground for the Incident Command Post over the weekend, and the south overflow parking lot has been closed to the public. The ICP was not yet operational as of Monday morning.
“We understand that during these times, as a giving community. That you may want to make donations to the fire fighters,” Enumclaw Mayor Anthony Wright posted on the city’s Facebook page on Aug. 8. “Currently they are mobilizing and establishing themselves. New team members and leaders will be coming in the next few days. During this very fast and fluid situation they are not able to take donations. Should a time come when they can or are able to accept any donations we will put that information out.”
The overflow lot adjacent on the corner of Warner and Farman is expected to remain open for the Junior Rodeo, OKC Dog Show, and Pro Rodeo.
