Overview

• On May 30 around 4 a.m., a semi-truck hauling 70,000 pounds of bee hives rolled over on Weidkamp Road near Lynden, freeing an estimated 250 million honeybees.
• Whatcom County deputies, public works crews and over two dozen volunteer beekeepers worked together to recover, repair and reset dislodged hive boxes.
• Officials closed Weidkamp Road between Loomis Trail and West Badger for up to 48 hours and urged residents to stay at least 200 yards away to avoid swarming bees.
• Most bees returned to their box hives and reconnected with their queen by Saturday morning, enabling authorities to reopen the road and resume their scheduled pollination transport to South Dakota.
• Honeybees pollinate more than 100 crops nationwide, and commercial hive transport is crucial to preventing resource depletion and supporting agricultural yields.