Rural farmland east of Blaine was abuzz on May 30 after a truck carrying an estimated 14 million bees crashed on Weidkamp Road between West Badger and Loomis Trail roads.
A truck hauling an estimated 70,000 pounds of honeybee hives – around 400 individuals hives – overturned around midnight between May 29 and 30 east of Blaine. Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies responded to the area around 9 a.m. after the hives fell off the truck following an unsuccessful attempt at towing the truck, according to WCSO social media posts and activity reports.
After closing Weidkamp Road and warning the public to stay at least 200 yards from the site, WCSO handed responsibilities to the Division of Emergency Management (DEM), which assisted over two dozen beekeepers who arrived on scene to help re-hive the lost bees.
The beekeepers identified queen bees in the hives, repairing and restoring hives to a working condition, and attempting to entice the bees back into hive boxes over the course of the day.
Derek Condit, identified by DEM officials as one of the master beekeepers onsite, wrote extensively about his experience in a blog post on his website, thenaturalbeekeeperspath.com.
“Even as a seasoned beekeeper, I was in awe,” Condit wrote. “The sheer number of bees in the air – loose, swarming, buzzing around the truck and the shattered remains of their lives – was staggering. It was like stepping into a cloud of wings and insects.”
WCSO had originally stated that 250 million bees had escaped the truck and were swarming around Lynden farmland. That number was later amended to around 14 million after consulting with beekeepers on scene.
“We had to act quickly and carefully, not only to preserve the living colonies but to protect the delicate brood who could not withstand exposure,” Condit wrote. “We worked tirelessly for hours, doing everything we could to stabilize the hives and move them to safety. Wearing full beekeeping suits in the sun while lifting and relocating hundreds of heavy boxes was physically grueling.”
Condit said the team of beekeepers continued to stack hives, some still intact but many battered from the accident, six feet high so they could be moved from the truck. Once the beehives were moved to safety, the truck was towed from its wedged position in an agricultural ditch on Weidkamp Road. Condit wrote that while massive efforts were made to save as many bees as possible, “significant losses are inevitable.”
“Millions of bees were lost that day – there’s no way around that hard truth,” Condit wrote. “But I try to focus on the lives we were able to save. I choose to hold onto the hope that many of the surviving bees will adapt and move forward.”
Condit wrote that not all the escaped bees were able to be recovered, and expected groups of bees were likely to descend on the surrounding farmland, searching for new shelter after millions were shuffled in the accident and ensuing recovery efforts.
DEM official Amy Cloud said the driver was uninjured but did report bee stings, as did DEM personnel and WCSO deputies. None required medical treatment.
Cloud said the truck was from Grigg’s Apiaries, a family-owned beekeeping business in Moses Lake. DEM officials said the public was in no immediate danger, and no cause of the accident has been released.
Hive recovery efforts were finished by that afternoon, and Weidkamp Road was reopened the afternoon of May 31.
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