Millions of bees are let loose after semitruck overturns

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. (KIRO) - An estimated 14 million bees are swarming in Washington state after they were let loose when the semitruck carrying them overturned on Friday morning.

“I was just pretty much completely covered in bees and I didn’t even get up right at the truck,” said Matt Klein, deputy director of emergency management.

Klein is part of the effort to stop a swarm in Whatcom County after honeybees were thrown onto Weidkamp Road near Lynden, Washington.

“The beekeepers are down there, trying to collect the bees into new hives as well as recover the hives that were damaged in the accident,” Klein said.

Now the area is buzzing with bees and workers are trying to gather them all up.

But in order to get it done, they had to bring in the experts

The plan, let the bees come to them.

“You know, as we get through the warmer part of the day and into the night, they’ll calm down a little bit more and be more likely to go back to their hives,” Klein said.

It’s a plan that could take some time.

“Still keeping the road closed for the rest of the night and then hopefully get this reopened tomorrow morning,” Klein said.

While emergency management crews say there is no general health risk, they are advising anyone who is allergic to bees to avoid the area. Everyone else should keep a distance of about 200 yards because these guys are not afraid to sting.

“We’ve had a number of the beekeepers, they’ve gotten stung as well as a couple of our deputies, but they’re honeybees, so that the sting isn’t as severe as some other bees,” Klein said.

Experts say honey bees swarm when they are looking for a new home. Right now, these experts are hoping they can keep this swarm in the home they already have.

“We are very mindful of the fact that these are an endangered portion of our population. Here we want to make sure we’re able to recover the bees in a way that is safe for them, safe for us, and that we can get as many of these bees collected back so they can get back to doing their work,” Klein said.

It’s unclear what caused the semi-truck to overturn.

Editor’s Note: The initial estimate of bees who got loose was 250 million, but the number was later reduced to 14 million.

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