Washington Ice Cave Collapse Kills One, Injures Five Amid Western Heat Wave

By Mark Leberfinger, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

July 7,2015; 9:27PM,EDT

 

 

One person is dead after a collapse at the Big Four Ice Caves on Monday night in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Marblemount, Washington.
Three adults and two children were injured, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
The Big Four Ice Caves area is closed until further notice while search and rescue teams assess the area for recovery of the deceased victim, according to the sheriff's office and the U.S. Forest Service. The ice is fragile at the caves because of hot weather and rock fall from overhead.

Tourist Captures Washington Ice Cave Collapse Day Before Deadly Incident

"The victim is at the back of the cave and, due to extremely dangerous conditions, a safe recovery will be difficult," Public Affairs Officer for Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Tracy O'Toole said in a press release issued Tuesday morning local time.
All of Washington State has been in the midst of a heatwave since July 1 with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average, AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Doll said.
Hikers visit the Big Four Ice Caves at the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Marblemount, Wash. (Flickr Photo/Erica Cooper)
"In the month of June, much of the state experienced temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees above normal," Doll said. "The heatwave will ease later this week, but temperatures will remain above normal this weekend through the middle part of July."
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The Forest Service issued a warning in May about sections of the cave collapsing, causing concern for visitors to the area.
The initial call came in to 911 around 5:38 p.m. PDT Monday, with the partial collapse occurring about 45 minutes earlier.
The Sheriff's Office helicopter rescue team reached the three seriously injured people and transported them to the Big Four Ice Caves picnic area, where they were delivered to AirLift Northwest.