SPOKANE, Wash. – Projections from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) show this year’s fire season in Eastern Washington is shaping up to be right around average.
Spokane County residents know that means to remain on high alert, though, as an average Eastern Washington fire season is still an active one–especially coming off of two of the most destructive wildfires in the state’s history last summer, the Gray and Oregon Road fires.
“We are predicting significant wildfire risk for the state of Washington as we head into the 2024 fire season,” said Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz in Friday’s briefing.
In fact, Franz said 97 fires have already sparked up on or near DNR land, and more than 124 acres have burned statewide–an almost 40% increase from the same time last year.
“April and May are going to fall well-below precipitation averages for this time of year, and our snowpack is already dwindling pretty quickly,” said DNR meteorologist Matt Dehr.
Dehr says a dry spring reduces any potential statewide buffer heading into fire season.
“There’s not as much room for a heatwave in early June, because that could really spark an early start to fire season,” Dehr said.
There is some potential for good news on the horizon according to Dehr, as the region transitions from an El Niño climate pattern to La Niña, which typically means wetter weather in the Northwest from mid-June to early-July.
“I think that’s really going to tamper down some of the high fire danger that we’ve already seen relative to normal, and return us to more of a baseline fire season for the rest of 2024,” Dehr said.
“At this stage of the year, we’re looking at conditions similar to what we saw in 2010 and 2016,” said DNR Fire Regulation Program Manager Vaugh Cork.
Still though, 150,000 and 290,000 acres burned statewide in those years respectively. For context, last year’s fire season saw more than 165,000 acres burned across Washington.
It’s important to note that extreme weather events like unexpected heavy rains or severe heat domes could impact this fire season’s trajectory.
“Just like 2020, it was a below average season but we had an extreme [heat] event around Labor Day that changed things significantly over just a couple of days,” Cork said.
DNR officials say if conditions are going to be hot and dry like this weekend, to make sure to keep a close eye on campfires or barbecues, and always have a fire extinguisher or a bucket of water on standby.
They also suggest avoiding burning yard debris, as yard burns have caused more than a third of the close to 100 fires that have already burned in 2024.
Plus, it’s always a good idea to get a head start on making your property more “firewise,” by trimming the fuels around your home, increasing the defensible space around your property and more.
For more information about how to make your home more “firewise,” including how to schedule a free consultation with the DNR’s Wildfire Ready Neighbors program, click here.
