WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A mudslide is complicating the reopening of a 9-mile stretch of North Cascades Highway 20.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) says that heavy rains caused the slide to cover the road between mileposts 152 and 153 on Sunday, Aug. 11. Debris and mud currently cover approximately 100 feet of both lanes of the highway.

The slide is within the current closure area for the Easy Fire. Crews currently estimate it will take 2 days to clear the mudslide debris.

The nine-mile closure of the North Cascades Highway remains in effect due to both the mudslide and the ongoing Easy Fire, which has burnt over 2100 acres as of Monday morning, Aug. 12.

WSDOT and the Incident Command managing the Easy Fire will reevaluate conditions for reopening once the road has been cleared.