Elevated wildfire risk is in the forecast through Monday evening.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for conditions conducive to extreme fire behavior from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday in Chelan and Douglas counties, as well as the Methow River Valley. The warning covers the east slopes of the Cascades into the Columbia River basin.
Central Washington starting Sunday afternoon will see high temperatures from about 95 to 101 degrees and relative humidity around 15% to 20%, said Steve Bodnar, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane. Starting Sunday afternoon and into the evening hours, winds will pick up to 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph.
“It’s really, really dry out there and having this heat wave that we’re in right now, conditions are just getting drier,” Bodnar said. “Our fuels are continuing to cure further and further.”
Central Washington has not had a wetting rain — a tenth of an inch of rainfall — in almost 50 days. And there’s no rain in the forecast.
A fire weather watch is also in place for portions of Central Washington on Monday, when winds will shift, coming out of the north and northwest as a cold front passes, according to the National Weather Service. The Okanogan Valley could see some of the strongest gusts, up to 55 mph.
The conditions could rapidly spread flames from any new fires.
Five large fires are already burning across the state, according to the state Department of Natural Resources, including the Pomas fire in the red flag warning zone. The fire was 36 miles northwest of Entiat, Chelan County, causing a closure order in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. A Level 1 “Fire Advisory” was issued for Holden Village, above Lake Chelan.
The Western Pines fire started Wednesday afternoon, prompting evacuations near Davenport, Lincoln County. It was roughly 5,867 acres Saturday, with 0% contained. More information is on the Lincoln County sheriff’s office Facebook page: facebook.com/LINCOLNCOUNTYWASHERIFF/.
The Hope fire about 15 miles north of Kettle Falls, Stevens County, was an estimated 6,365 acres and 0% contained. The fire was reported on Tuesday. More information is available on the Stevens County Emergency Management Facebook page: facebook.com/stevenscountyem/.
The Bear Gulch fire along Lake Cushman in Olympic National Forest was reportedly 440 acres and 0% contained as of Saturday.
Check the Washington Smoke Blog for the latest air quality updates and a five-day smoke forecast at wasmoke.blogspot.com.
Find your local agency at mil.wa.gov/alerts#local to sign up for emergency alerts. These will notify you of important messages, including evacuation notices.
For more about on preparing for wildfires, what to pack in an emergency supply kit, visit st.news/wildfire-prep.
Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this story.
