Wildfire danger across Eastern Washington will remain high through Wednesday evening as fires burn across the state.
Much of the east side of the state is under a red flag warning from the National Weather Service as conditions become conducive to extreme fire behavior. The warning will expire at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
A dry cold front moving toward the coast will usher in northwest winds in Eastern Washington beginning Tuesday afternoon. Any fires that spark will have some strong winds — up to 20 mph Tuesday and 30 mph in some areas Wednesday — that could rapidly spread flames.
Beginning Wednesday in Western Washington, the system will bring some cool, cloudy drizzle to the region, helping to quell fire danger.
Fire danger will remain high east of the Cascade crest on Wednesday, with the most critical conditions along the Idaho border and down in the southeast corner of the state, said Matt Dehr, lead wildfire meteorologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. There’s also a slight chance of thunderstorms coming up out of Oregon in the Blue Mountains Tuesday evening.
Things will likely calm down Thursday and Friday, before heating up again this weekend. Critical fire weather could pick up again sometime next week.
Fuels are dry and ready to burn.
“The rest of July really does look quite hot. I don’t really see a lot of relief in the future, and it is really the typical start of our very hot and very dry season,” Dehr said. “So the fact that we’re already just ready to burn, everything’s ready to go — we’re going to be off to the races sooner than later.”
There are fires burning across the state, including one on the Olympic Peninsula.
The Hope fire 10 miles southwest of Northport was reported around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday and estimated at about 2,161 acres by 5 p.m., said Ryan Rodruck, a DNR spokesperson.
Stevens County Emergency Management ordered Level 3, or go now, evacuations near the Three Pines Youth Camp, and Level 2 evacuations for the surrounding area. A Red Cross shelter was open at the Kettle Falls Middle school.
The human-caused Bear Gulch fire was estimated at 326 acres as of Tuesday. The fire was reported in Olympic National Forest near the Mt. Rose Trailhead along Lake Cushman.
It was burning through a burn scar on steep, rocky terrain. This is the third fire in that area in roughly 30 years, with the most recent in 2006.
The fire blocked access to Forest Service Road 24 along the lake and closed the Mount Rose, Dry Creek and Copper Creek trailheads, as well as the Bear Gulch day use area. The Staircase area and campground in Olympic National Park were also closed.
The Pomas fire, burning in the upper Entiat River valley, was 2,890 acres as of Tuesday. It was 0% contained as of Tuesday morning, said Thomas Kyle-Milward, a DNR spokesperson.
A critical incident management team, reserved for the largest fires, has been assigned to the fire, Kyle-Milward said.
The fire is burning within the footprint of the 2015 Wolverine Fire, an area including snags, heavy downed woody material, grasses, young conifers and shrubs. It was started by lightning.
Resources are being drawn down on the Siegel fire as fire behavior improves. The fire in Spokane County near Rosalia is about 700 acres, Kyle-Milward said, and 93% contained.
Apple Acres, near Lake Chelan, is more than 3,000 acres and 70% contained as fire behavior moderates, Kyle-Milward said.
Both fires were reportedly human-caused, and are under investigation, according to DNR.
The state is at a preparedness level of three. The preparedness level is calculated from burning conditions, fire activity, predicted weather and resource availability; the higher the level (out of five), the more in-state resources and other services come online and fewer resources are made available for out-of-state responses.
Under red flag warnings, the Spokane Valley Fire Department advises people should avoid parking on or driving over dry grass or vegetation, avoid yard work near dry vegetation, and ensure chains or other parts of their vehicle are not dragging and creating sparks.
Find your local agency at mil.wa.gov/alerts#local to sign up for emergency alerts. These will notify you of important messages from emergency managers, including evacuation notices.
Check Washington Smoke Blog — wasmoke.blogspot.com — for the latest air quality updates and a five-day smoke forecast.
For more information about preparing for wildfires, including what to pack in an emergency supply kit visit st.news/wildfire-prep.
Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this story.
