Tumbleweeds are torched at the Hanford cleanup site in southeast Washington in the early part of this year. (Credit: U.S. Department of Energy) Listen (Runtime 4:35) Read Fire Chief Nickolus […]Read More
A view of the Mount Pilchuck fire lookout in Washington. (Credit: Ham Hock / Flickr Creative Commons) Listen (Runtime 1:04) Read It’s bone dry and blisteringly hot across Washington state, […]Read More
Volunteers with the Columbia Basin chapter of Washington’s Native Plant Society met up at a local hiking hotspot in southeastern Washington on a cold November afternoon to replant sagebrush tubelings […]Read More
As wildfires become more prevalent, researchers are looking at how their smoke could affect health outcomes.Read More
A drone photo shows the devastation of the Wixson Heights Neighborhood in Orofino, Idaho. (Courtesy of Lauren Paterson) Listen (Runtime 3:41) Read Joanne Schwartz and her husband John count themselves […]Read More
Residents on Blue Canyon Road near Lake Whatcom have been issued a Level 2 evacuation warning as crews fight a roughly 30-acre fire that likely started due to lighting Monday evening.Read More
Large fires surrounding Spokane level homes and send people and livestock fleeing Read More
Workers remove trees impacted by the Gray Fire near Interstate 90. (Courtesy: Washington State Department of Transportation) Read By: Rebecca White / Spokane Public Radio Update: Interstate 90 has re-opened. Washington […]Read More
After the Vogt family toured sites Maui Monday, they headed back to their resort – and traffic stopped. Flames jumped the highway, said mom, Kara Vogt. (Courtesy of Ryan Vogt) […]Read More
Wildfires are always dangerous – but imagine not understanding the warnings. That’s a real challenge for communities with language barriers, and Washington emergency agencies say there is still a long way to go despite efforts to break those barriers.Read More
n incendio forestal en el condado de Okanogan, cerca de Oroville, en el noreste de Washington, está activo y cubre una amplia zona a través de la frontera entre EE.UU. y Canadá. Los niveles de evacuación se redujeron al nivel 2 en el condado de Okanogan.Read More
A wildfire in Okanogan County, near Oroville, in Northeast Washington is active and covers a large area across the U.S/Canadian border. Evacuation levels were reduced to level 2 in Okanogan County.Read More
In this Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Forest Service flames from the Nethker Fire engulf trees at Payette National Forest near McCall, Idaho. The Northwest has […]Read More
The Newell Road Fire in south-central Washington has burned more than 50,000 acres. (Credit: Newell Road Fire Information, Facebook.) Read A fire in south-central Washington has threatened renewable energy projects, […]Read More
Aircraft flying recently on the Tunnel Five Fire in the Columbia River Gorge. (Courtesy: InciWeb) Read There’s a red flag warning and heat advisories in place throughout several areas of […]Read More
As the days get hotter and warmer, many Washingtonians are gearing up for the wildfires that will ignite across the region this year, causing smoky skies, evacuations and potentially devastating loss. Read More
A fire burned an estimated 1,000 acres on the Hanford nuclear reservation this weekend. The fire is now 100 percent contained, according to a Department of Energy spokesperson. (Courtesy: Benton […]Read More
A tanker airplane drops fire retardant on a wildfire burning near Twisp, Wash. Three firefighters were killed battling the blaze. (Credit: Ted S. Warren / Associated Press) Listen (Runtime 1:07) […]Read More
The Cow Canyon Fire burns near Naches, Washington in August 2022. New funding from the federal government is earmarked to help Northwest communities become more resistant to wildfire. (Credit: Washington […]Read More
For decades, the federal government declared all forest fires in the West a destructive force. Now, it is viewed as a fundamental part of the western ecosystem. Lauren Gallup and Mary Ellen Pitney explain.Read More
A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn the edges of an area up to a fire break in Chelan, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Listen (Runtime :50) Read The Biden […]Read More
The use of aerial fire retardant to fight wildfires could be further restricted to protect the environment.
A handful of groups from western states filed a motion last week to intervene in a lawsuit brought by an Oregon environmental group against the U.S. Forest Service for inadvertently dumping fire retardant into streams. Read More
Late afternoon light catches smoke from the Cold Springs Fire near a structure that appeared to be empty long before the fire, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, near Omak, Washington. CREDIT: […]Read More
Lawmakers are allocating over $6 billion this fiscal year to support the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service in wildfire response.
It’s an increase of 14% from the last year’s funding, and will support wildfire suppression, operations and a new research hub to aid fire management. This fiscal year, the forest service will see an increase of Read More
Scientists are studying old wildfires to find what forest treatments slowed the flames – and what treatments didn’t work so well. Researchers are looking closely at the Schneider Springs fire, the largest wildfire in Washington in 2021.Read More
United States Forest Service Crews will begin Burned Area Emergency Response work on the land scarred by the Bolt Creek fire in King County on Thursday. Read More
This year’s fire season has been the mildest year for Washington in a decade. But, the season isn’t over yet.Read More
A first-of-its-kind climate resiliency website will help communities understand climate-related risks, the Biden administration said. The new website, launched Thursday, provides real-time information and predictions for local communities that are more vulnerable to disasters, such as wildfires, heat waves and droughts.Read More
The Washington Department of Natural Resources is warning of a potential increase in wildfire activity across the state this weekend. Red flag warnings have been issued in every county west of the Cascade crest. Read More
Since the wildfire disaster, 24 homes have been rebuilt in Malden. The mayor says the goal is to have the new fire station built by August 2023. (Photo by Geoff […]Read More
Even with smoke, you can breathe easier. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have practical tips to keep the air clean inside homes despite the smoke in Northwest skies.Read More
The U.S. Forest Service is looking at something different — very different — to improve situational awareness at big wildfires: high altitude balloons.Read More
The Williams Lake fire, burning just Southwest of Spokane, is now 100% contained.
Crews working the blaze began departing on Wednesday, says Eric Keller, public information officer on the scene. The fire was downgraded to a type four incident today. Read More
The Cow Canyon fire, burning near the border of Yakima and Kittitas counties, is now 60% contained.
Joel Brumm, public information officer for the fire incident command team, says crews have continued to make progress on the containment lines and extinguishing residual fire to reduce spread. Read More
Listen (Runtime 1:21) Read The fire danger forecast for all of Benton County was raised to the level of VERY HIGH this week. This means restrictions for residents and farmers. […]Read More
Paula Swedeen, a forest policy specialist for the Washington Environmental Council, walks through forest land adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Listen Reporter Lauren Paterson tells […]Read More
New study shows how N95 masks help keep smoke particles out of your lungs. Read More
Biochar produced by C6 Forest to Farm. CREDIT: Tom McCoy. Listen Fire scorching the forests of the Methow Valley in North Central Washington has become a devastating yearly event. “It’s […]Read More
As wildfires have burned throughout the Northwest this summer, some forest stands have fared better than others. Managers say that’s thanks, in part, to thinning and prescribed burns, which have made the stands more resilient in the face of wildfire.Read More
This year in north-central Washington has echoes of 2015, when the complex of fires across Okanogan County burned tens of thousands of acres on the reservation, closer to Omak, and shut down Highway 155 across the reservation for long stretches. What was true then is very possible now: The fires took out a lot of timber that the tribes harvest and use for revenue. Read More
“Wildfire is presenting an imminent threat to life, property, and the environment, and we need all hands on deck,” Gov. Brad Little said in a statement. “I appreciate our firefighters and fire managers for working so hard under such challenging conditions, and I am grateful that our guardsmen are able to step in once again to support Idaho communities.”Read More
First a drought. Then record heat. Now Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a statewide wildfire state of emergency. Read More
The National Weather Serivce is warning of extreme fire danger Tuesday night and Wednesday. Lightning storms, dry conditions and winds are expected to combine Tuesday evening and Wednesday, priming Eastern Washington and North Idaho for wildfires.Read More
The Northwest is primed for fire season, and not in a good way. East of the Cascades, forecasters say this year could be worse than recent record-breaking fire seasons. Read More
The National Interagency Fire Center said Tuesday that it’s the second earliest it reached what it calls preparedness level 4 on the 1-5 scale since 1990. It’s also only the fourth time in the last 20 years that it has reached the level 4 in June.Read More
A fire grew across state lines in Northeastern Oregon over the weekend, becoming the region’s largest blaze so far this year.Read More
Smoke forecasting is notoriously hard to do, but a new tool from the state Department of Ecology may help us anticipate hazardous air five days in the future.Read More
Severe drought has turned forests and grasslands into dry fuels, ready to ignite from a careless camper or a lightning strike. More people are building in areas bordering wildlands, expanding the so-called wildland-urban interface, an area where wildfires impact people the most. Invasive, highly flammable vegetation is spreading uncontrolled across the West.Read More
Last year, former President Trump refused to approve a routine disaster declaration for Malden because he was feuding with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat. So that federal aid didn't start arriving until after President Biden took office and he finally signed the order.Read More
Just about every indicator of drought is flashing red across the western U.S. after a dry winter and warm early spring. The snowpack is at less than half of normal in much of the region. Reservoirs are being drawn down, river levels are dropping and soils are drying out.Read More
