New study shows how N95 masks help keep smoke particles out of your lungs. Continue Reading Donning An N-95 Respirator During Wildfire Smoke Events Could Protect Your HealthRead More
Biochar produced by C6 Forest to Farm. CREDIT: Tom McCoy. Listen BY LAUREN GALLUP Fire scorching the forests of the Methow Valley in North Central Washington has become a devastating yearly event. “It’s becoming one of those things that, every year you get into, May, June, and people start to hold their breath, knowing that… 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. Continue Reading Washington Governor Issues Wildfire Emergency, Wider Burn Ban As Hot, Dry 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. Continue Reading It’s Very Hot, It’s 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. Continue Reading Northeast Oregon Wildfire Jumps Into Southeast Washington In Difficult 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. Continue Reading Looking To Escape Northwest Wildfire Smoke This Year? A New Tool Could HelpRead 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
U.S. officials said Thursday they will try to stamp out wildfires as quickly as possible this year as severe drought tightens its grip across the West and sets the stage for another destructive summer of blazes. Continue Reading Read More
As the company weighs its options, two Washington state legislators sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Congress members in Western states, urging them to find a solution to continue the SuperTanker’s operations, which they described as the “biggest and one of the best weapons in battling the catastrophic fires.” Read More
The damage caused by wildfires can be devastating, gutting structures and driving out people who live and work nearby. And researchers say the smoke from the annually recurring blazes also delivers economic damage to areas that were never touched by the flames. Read More
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved disaster relief requests for nine eastern Washington counties and two Native tribes impacted by summer wildfires. That includes aid for the Whitman County towns of Malden and Pine City, which burned during a Labor Day wildfire that was fanned by high winds. Read More
This marks the second year the state Department of Natural Resources has pushed for legislation to expand Washington’s firefighting efforts. This time DNR is seeking $125 million every two years, during a legislative session complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
In the decades since government restrictions reduced logging on federal lands, the timber industry has promoted the idea that private lands are less prone to wildfires, saying that forests thick with trees fuel bigger, more destructive blazes. But an analysis by OPB and ProPublica shows last month’s fires burned as intensely on private forests with large-scale logging Read More
COVID-related aid and police reform will be two of the major issues before the Washington legislature when it convenes next month. But newly-reelected Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz hopes legislators will also consider dedicating more funding for wildfire and forest health projects. Read More
After some politicking and tweeting — these are blue states, after all — California and Oregon's major disaster declarations were mostly quickly approved. But it's now been 71 days since Washington Gov. Jay Inslee petitioned the president, and there's been no response, not even a denial. Read More
As Washington works to combat climate change, can rangelands be better managed to make wildfires less catastrophic? What are the most effective solutions to remove invasive grasses, like cheatgrass, which dries out quickly, burns extremely hot and helps fires jump from bunchgrass to bunchgrass? Read More
Experts warn that Western states and the federal government need to radically increase the number and size of controlled burns to help reduce the ongoing risks of more catastrophic wildfire seasons. Continue Reading Experts To Western Read More
Many homeowners who lost everything in a wildfire had no idea they were at risk. Only two states require disclosing wildfire risk to buyers in the house hunting process. Continue Reading Across The West, Millions Of Homes Are Read More
At around 18,000 members, the Okanogan Highlands Fire Watch group continues to provide what members call valuable and lifesaving information. People post evacuation notices, fire maps and recovery resources throughout fire season. Daniel Pratt started the group in 2015 during another particularly bad fire season for Okanogan County. Read More
On Chloe Place’s first day of school this year, homework came second to thinking about where her family would spend the night. Continue Reading After Fire, Malden Students Try To Focus On SchoolRead More
A Facebook page called “Baby Yoda fights fires” has been documenting his journey and spreading joy far beyond the fire lines. More than 30,000 people and counting are following the page as he travels from crew to crew. Continue Read More
Nearly 300,000 acres in Washington burned in just one day over Labor Day weekend. That is almost unfathomable. But it happened. Why? What were the conditions that made for that explosive situation? Continue Reading Before Labor Read More
Labor Day 2020 lived up to its name if you’re a firefighter. It was a day that set up for numerous fires in central and eastern Washington that have burned tens of thousands of acres, and possibly many more. At least 80 fires started in Washington in what officials call a historic fire event.
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The weather didn’t pan out as forecasters had hoped. That means smoke should stick around until the end of this week. And, it’s not only the skies that are choked with the unhealthy levels of smoke. Continue Reading When Will The Smoke Read More
Air quality east of the Cascade Mountains has deteriorated as wildfires burn across Washington and Oregon. In Southern Oregon, the air is hazardous. In Central Washington, air quality is unhealthy for everyone. Continue Reading Breathing Read More
One hundred large fires are burning in 12 states across the West — but just five of them have been contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Continue Reading ‘The Thing I Dread The Most Is Not Read More
Widespread wildfires across the Northwest are causing owners to evacuate more than 2,000 pets and livestock into fairgrounds, friends’ properties and even across state lines. Continue Reading Goats, Llamas, Read More
At least seven people have died in wildfires that are raging in Washington, Oregon and California, adding to the horrible toll from record-setting fires in 2020. "This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfires in our state's history," Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said. Read More
On Wednesday, Washington Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz was walking through the streets of Malden with the town’s mayor, Chris Ferrell. Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers was following a short distance behind and remembering what happened Monday afternoon. Read More
Usually, fire season starts to tamp down in September. This year has been anything but normal. In an unprecedented fire event, at least 80 fires started in Washington over Labor Day weekend. Continue Reading Extreme End To The 2020 Read More
Firefighters are stretched thin across the Northwest, and officials are trying to keep crews healthy with bagged lunches and smaller camps. So with near-record temps this weekend, they’re asking Labor Day revelers to please watch those campfires (though campfires are banned in much of Washington due to fire danger). And make sure chains on trailers and boats don’t drag and Read More
A dry cold front is expected to push into central and eastern Washington this weekend, bringing with it lots of wind from the north. That could fan the flames of fires, especially new starts that are just taking off. Winds could reach 15 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts around 40 miles per hour. Read More
Over the past week, thousands of lightning strikes have sparked more than a dozen large wildfires in Oregon. For example, five fires are burning around the Warm Springs Reservation. Continue Reading Lightning Sparks Dozens Of Large Oregon WildfiresRead More
Crews have fought fire with fire to help secure the containment lines. One method you may not have heard of uses ping pong balls and helicopters. They’re officially called PSDs, or plastic spherical devices. Continue Read More
The fire grew fast when it first started Tuesday, Aug. 18, quickly becoming the top priority in the state. Fire managers said Sunday night they were really pleased with the progress. Crews did burnout operations over the weekend, a method of basically fighting fire with fire. Read More
Firefighters are working to contain a large fire in north-central Washington. So far, the Palmer Fire has burned at least 6,000 acres and forced evacuations as winds pushed flames forward. It’s expected to grow, pushing north toward the Canadian border, in the coming days. Read More
The air quality around the Northwest is gradually worsening with the increasing number of wildfires burning this week. Health and air quality officials are urging people to be prepared in case the smoke becomes more prominent. Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide emergency Wednesday to help with fires burning in on the Olympic Peninsula and in central and eastern Washington. Continue Reading Okanogan County Fire Grows; Read More
For some people, there are advantages to living in an unprotected area. For one, they don’t have to pay taxes into a fire district or timber taxes to the state. Residents in Moses Coulee area of Douglas County want to act as an initial attack team for their small area, helping douse the flames until official fire crews arrive. Read More
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act late Wednesday night in response to the fire, which was burning about 500 acres at the time in the Mosier Creek area of the Columbia River Gorge, between Hood River and The Dalles. Read More
Washington Firefighter Quarantining With COVID; It’s A Test Of Safety Plan Ahead Of Wildfire Weather
The firefighter contracted COVID-19 outside of the fire camp. He tested positive after he left the fire. The firefighter came into contact with 14 others, who have now been quarantined and aren’t showing symptoms right now, according to the DNR. This year, fire camps have been kept smaller and more spaced out – to help prevent widespread outbreaks. Read More
July started off cool, which lowered wildfire risks in Washington and Oregon. But a new outlook shows excessive heat and a lack of precipitation have helped to dry out fuels in southern and central Oregon and central Washington. In those areas that have been dealing with drought, the land is ready to burn. Read More
As wildfire season heats up, Washington fire managers are working out new ways for incarcerated people to help on the fire lines and stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Correctional crews have helped put out fires and work in fire camp kitchens for decades. And things are a little different this year. Read More
