Twin Sisters Search Continues + I-5 Goes to One Lane Thursday

Happy Tuesday, Bellingham. It is July 7 and we have a lot coming at you before the week really gets going. A large mountain search has been running for nearly two weeks. Wildfire smoke from BC is settling over parts of Whatcom County. A major I-5 closure starts Thursday night. And two ballot-worthy civic stories just dropped. Coffee in hand? Let's get into it.

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Today’s Weather: Mostly sunny today with a high near 76°F and a south southwest wind around 9 mph. Worth noting: BC wildfire smoke is affecting eastern Whatcom County right now, so air quality is elevated in Kendall, Lynden, and the Columbia Valley. Check AirNow.gov before heading out for extended outdoor exercise. Full seven-day forecast from the National Weather Service.

Search & Rescue

Large Search Continues in Twin Sisters for Missing Hiker Gursimran Randhawa

The search for Gursimran Singh Randhawa, 34, a British Columbia resident who went missing in the Twin Sisters mountains of central Whatcom County, is entering its second week with no resolution. Randhawa entered the United States on June 21 for a hiking trip and was expected back in Kamloops, BC by June 28. His Toyota Tacoma was found parked roughly six miles up Middle Fork Road on June 30, confirming he had gone into the backcountry.

The operation expanded significantly over the Fourth of July weekend. Teams from Bellingham Mountain Rescue Council, Whatcom County Search and Rescue 4x4 Unit, Skagit Mountain Rescue, Everett Mountain Rescue, Seattle Mountain Rescue, Tacoma Mountain Rescue Unit, and Olympic Mountain Rescue joined Whatcom County Sheriff's Office crews on the ground. On Sunday, July 5, the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team flew searchers directly to South Twin Sister to search the Sisters Glacier on foot. CBP Air and Marine has provided aerial drone support throughout.

The search is active and ongoing as of today. Anyone with information about Randhawa's whereabouts should call 911. Full details on the search operation, terrain, and the volunteer SAR teams involved here. To support Whatcom County SAR volunteers, visit wcsar.org/donations.

Air Quality

BC Wildfire Smoke Pushing Into Whatcom County, Eastern Communities Most Affected

The Brunswick Creek Fire, burning north of Hope, BC since July 2, has grown past 3,000 acres and is sending smoke south down the Fraser River corridor into Whatcom County. Air quality in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range is being reported in the Columbia Valley, Kendall, and parts of Lynden. Bellingham's AQI is sitting around 55 (moderate), with PM2.5 readings near 11 to 12 micrograms per cubic meter. Evacuation orders are in place in the immediate Fraser Canyon area on the BC side of the border.

The Northwest Clean Air Agency had not issued a formal alert as of Monday, but conditions can shift quickly with wind changes. People with asthma, COPD, heart disease, or other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions should limit prolonged outdoor activity, especially vigorous exercise. Kids and older adults fall into the sensitive group as well. If you must be outside in areas with elevated readings, an N95 or P100 mask provides real protection; standard cloth face coverings do not filter fine wildfire particulates effectively.

Track real-time readings at AirNow.gov or nwcleanairwa.gov. For BC fire status and evacuation information, check BC Wildfire Service. Full story on the fire, affected Whatcom County communities, and health guidance here.

Heads Up, Drivers

I-5 Narrows to One Lane South of Bellingham Starting Thursday Night

Starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 9, both directions of I-5 near Lake Samish will be reduced to a single lane as part of a fish passage replacement project. The restriction runs through Saturday, July 25. WSDOT is replacing outdated culverts under the freeway near milepost 241 that have blocked salmon and steelhead from migrating upstream since the highway was built in the 1950s and 60s.

The southbound off-ramp to Alger/Lake Samish Road is already closed through August 3, with a signed detour via Nulle Road. Old Samish Road, which parallels I-5 south of Bellingham, is also closed and stays that way through December 2026. WSDOT recommends SR 9 or Chuckanut Drive for passenger vehicles during the two-week window. Trucks should use SR 9 only. Speed limit in the work zone drops to 60 mph.

Plan for real delays during peak commute hours, particularly if you regularly travel to Burlington, Mount Vernon, or south toward Seattle. The corridor between exits 240 and 246 typically carries heavy freight and commuter traffic. Travelers heading to Bellingham International Airport or the Amtrak station should build extra time into their schedules through at least late July. Full closure details, alternate routes, and fish passage project background here.

Public Health

Fireworks Injuries Nearly Tripled at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Over the Fourth of July

PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center treated 14 patients for fireworks-related injuries over the Fourth of July weekend, up sharply from five cases the year before. Injuries included wounds to hands, faces, and eyes, burns, and eardrum damage. The Whatcom County spike was not isolated: Harborview Medical Center in Seattle reported a 65 percent increase in fireworks injuries compared to the prior year.

Consumer fireworks remain banned inside Bellingham city limits year-round but are permitted in unincorporated parts of Whatcom County during the July 4 window. Physicians point to one common scenario for the most severe injuries: someone re-approaches a device that appeared to misfire, not realizing it can still be live and will detonate on contact. With BC wildfire smoke already in the air and dry conditions persisting, fire departments are reminding residents to check burn ban status before any outdoor burning in unincorporated areas, where even consumer fireworks can be restricted during a Stage 1 ban.

Full story on the injuries, where fireworks are and are not legal in Whatcom County, and what to do if someone is hurt here.

Small Business Spotlight

Great Harvest Bread Co. Has Been Rewarding Bellingham Readers for Years

If your kid has been knocking out books for the Bellingham Public Library's Summer Reading program this summer, there's a good chance a fresh-baked cookie from Great Harvest Bread Co. is part of the reward. The local bakery has been a Summer Reading prize partner at BPL for many years, donating coupons for one of their cookies to kids ages 5 to 18 who complete reading activities.

Owner Renea Molyneaux put it simply: "The Summer Reading program is a wonderful way to enrich students' summers and a great way to connect with the larger Bellingham community." That kind of years-long commitment from a local business to kids' reading is the sort of thing worth knowing about. Summer Reading runs through August 31 at all Bellingham Public Library locations. Activity cards are available for early learners and adults too, not just kids.

More on Summer Reading and Great Harvest's involvement here.

Ballot Watch

Bellingham's Algorithmic Rent Price-Fixing Ban Is on the November Ballot

Bellingham voters will decide in November whether to ban landlords from using algorithmic software to coordinate rental prices. The Whatcom County Auditor's Office issued a Certificate of Sufficiency for Initiative 26-01 on July 2, confirming enough valid signatures were gathered to place the measure on the November 3 ballot. It is the only local initiative on Whatcom County's ballot this fall.

The measure, organized by Community First Whatcom, takes aim at platforms like RealPage, which collect leasing data from thousands of properties and feed it to algorithms that recommend pricing to subscribing landlords. Critics argue this amounts to coordinated pricing between competitors who would otherwise be setting rents independently. If passed, Initiative 26-01 creates a private right of action for renters to file suit directly, with civil and criminal penalties for violations. Whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections for tenants and employees are included.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed a separate state-level RealPage lawsuit earlier this year and cited Bellingham specifically as a city where algorithmic pricing concerns are consistently raised. Rents in Bellingham run roughly 39 percent above the national average. Only voters registered within Bellingham city limits are eligible to vote on the measure. Full breakdown of what Initiative 26-01 would do, how enforcement works, and what comes next here.

Civic Update

Washington AG Nick Brown Visits Bellingham, Details 61 Federal Lawsuits With Local Stakes

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown visited Bellingham City Club last month and laid out a broad picture of his office's current federal litigation. Since taking office in January 2025, Brown has filed 61 lawsuits against the Trump administration. Several of the active cases have direct implications for Whatcom County communities.

Cases Brown highlighted with local stakes: a lawsuit against the EPA over the repeal of national mercury emission standards (with specific relevance for Lummi Nation treaty fishing rights in the Salish Sea); a challenge to FEMA's shutdown of its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, which had 27 open Washington projects worth $182 million, most of them flowing to small towns, tribal nations, and rural communities. His office also sued against the EPA's attempt to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding that underpins vehicle emission standards. On the consumer side, Brown's office has sued Albertsons, parent of Safeway and Haggen, over what it describes as deceptive buy-one-get-one pricing that masked gradual price increases.

Brown described the current federal environment as "North Korea-esque" at the Bellingham event. His first assistant AG, Maureen Johnston, is a Bellingham native. You can track all 61 open cases at atg.wa.gov. Full Salish Current story on Brown's visit and the cases affecting Whatcom County here.

The Upcoming Week