2018 Washington Wildfires

The 2018 Washington wildfire season officially began June 1, 2018. A statewide state of emergency was declared by Governor Jay Inslee on July 31.

Training and preparedness

State level planning for the fire season began at least as early as January, 2018.

A regional annual meeting was held at Yakima in March to prepare for fighting wildfires. Summer fire rules went into effect on state-owned lands on April 15.

Four hundred firefighters from 36 fire districts and 18 agencies trained to fight forest fires in the Cascade Mountains above Yakima in May.

A 20-year Washington Wildland Fire Protection Strategic Plan under development during the first half of the year was to be released by the Department of Natural Resources to the public in July, 2018.

In June, three firefighting helicopters were staged in Western Washington by the Department of Natural Resources for the first time, prompted by a low 2017 fire season west of the Cascades followed by a dry month of May 2018 causing an abundance of dry fuel, and other weather considerations.

Season prediction

The season predictions issued in May cited drier than average weather conditions and low snow pack in Oregon, but in Washington conditions appeared to be near normal. The water year began October 1, 2017, and by May 1, indicated normal precipitation in the state, but according to National Interagency Fire Center, models that also include Pacific-scale El Niño–Southern Oscillation effects showed high chance of below-normal precipitation and higher-than-normal temperatures through July; these factors led to a prediction of above-normal wildfire risk for the entirety of Eastern Washington through August 2018. Climate scientists said in July that the Palmer Drought Severity Index showed Western Washington to be significantly drier than normal, adding to fire risk there.

Fires and smoke

What may have been the first significant fire of the year occurred on April 24, when 20 acres burned at Woodland, Washington in Clark County, extinguished via aerial attack.

On May 22, a controlled burn initiated by a local resident went wild and burned 300 acres near the Yakima Training Center. An Army helicopter crew was credited with saving homes near Selah by dumping water.

The Soap Lake Fire in early June grew to and triggered level 3 evacuations in Grant County.

The Ryegrass Coulee Fire on July 9–10 burned 1,600 acres, closed 20 miles of Interstate 90 in both directions for most of a day, and forced the complete evacuation of Vantage, Washington. It was the first of the state's fire season to trigger a level three evacuation or a road closure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released funds, saying that "the fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster".

The Little Camas Fire at , in the Cascades south of Leavenworth, Washington, started on July 5 and reached over 300 acres. It caused the evacuation of a bible camp. Over 440 firefighters and three helicopters were sent to contain it.

The Vulcan Mountain Fire at Vulcan Mountain in Ferry County grew to over 20 acres around July 13, before being contained.

Smoke conditions in mid July were judged as good, in contrast to the 2017 season which had Seattle blanketed in smoke and ash around the same time due to fires in British Columbia, Eastern Washington and Oregon.

The Rocky Reach Fire at , near Wenatchee, started on Friday, July 13 and reached over before being contained.

The Boylston Fire started on July 19 again shut down I-90 east of Ellensburg for 24 hours. It burned 80,000 acres, mostly on the Yakima Training Center, caused level three "leave now" evacuations, and destroyed five buildings while being fought by three fixed-wing aircraft and two helicopters. Military personnel and equipment to fight the fire were sent from Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane and Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the Puget Sound Area. The smoke caused "unhealthy" air conditions in Spokane on July 20.

The Upriver Beacon Fire in Spokane County, on the Spokane city/county border at , caused the evacuation of 800 homes and evacuation warnings for thousands more on July 18. It burned before being contained. Nearly all local fire agencies including cities of Spokane, Spokane Valley and Spokane County, and out-of-area fire aircraft, responded.

The at near Entiat started on July 28 as the result of lightning. Forest recreation users were told to leave.

Smoke from fires in Siberia was visible over southern British Columbia in late July and was assessed to be a possible health impact to Washington residents. On July 29, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency stated the Puget Sound region would experience "moderate air quality at times with some upper level smoke making for pretty sunsets. This smoke comes from distant fires, mostly originating from Siberia." On July 30, University of Washington meteorology professor Cliff Mass noted the progressively more smoky situation in Seattle from Siberian wildfires, and said a "smoke front" from California's Carr Fire would arrive before sunset.

Parts of Goat Rocks Wilderness were closed for the month of September in response to the Miriam Fire at , reported July 30 as the result of lightning. 400 campers were evacuated.

The Milepost 90 Fire in the Columbia Gorge near Wishram, Washington started on July 31 and reached over by August 1. Level 2 and level 3 evacuation orders were issued near Wishram. Almost 20 miles of State Route 14 were closed in both directions. On August 3, it burned and 85% contained.

Crescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires at near Twisp began with lightning on July 29 and grew quickly to over by August 1, driven by evening downslope wind. Four helicopters and other equipment were assigned and smokejumpers sent in to the rough terrain. Hikers and campers were told to leave. Crescent Mountain Fire increased to by August 5. It was controlled as of October 22, 2018 and burned a total 52,000 acres.

The Maple Fire at near the Hamma Hamma River on the Olympic Peninsula sent smoke towards Seattle on August 7. The fire was caused by illegal logging, and burned . The resulting criminal trial was the first time tree DNA had been used in a federal trial in the United States.

Resources

An infrared thermography-capable RC-26 surveillance aircraft and support crew from Washington Air National Guard were deployed in support of the National Interagency Fire Center for the third year in a row.

The Governor's July 31 state of emergency declaration allowed the Washington National Guard to be deployed; two Blackhawk helicopters at Fairchild Air Force Base were quickly allocated to firefighting.

References

External links

Northwest Interagency Coordination Center (NWCC)
for Oregon and Washington
Wildfire resources
Washington Department of Natural Resources
Washington smoke blog
seasonal updates began July 13, 2018 (Washington Ecology with county, state, and Federal agencies and Indian tribes)

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Wildfires

2018