Forty years later, residents remember West End blaze

PORT ANGELES — The first indication Tom Swanson had that something was amiss on the West End came on the morning of Sept. 25, 1985, as he drove west on U.S. Highway 101 to visit the site of a recent Milwaukee Land Company slash burn.

“I remember getting this sinking feeling in my stomach as I could see the underside of the alder leaves that were still on the trees,” said Swanson, who was a forester with the company at the time.

“The wind is at my back, so if the leaves are turned and I can see the underside of them, this means east winds. This is not good.”

Swanson’s instincts were correct.

East winds driven by a high-pressure system over the interior of British Columbia and funneled through the Strait of Juan de Fuca produce the dry, low-humidity conditions that those who live in the