2020 Washington Labor Day fires explained

The 2020 Washington Labor Day fires were part of the 2020 wildfires in the U.S. state of Washington. The Labor Day fires began on September 7, 2020, driven by high winds. Some of the fires were sparked by downed power lines. More than burned across the state of Washington, a one-day total greater than any of the last 12 entire fire seasons, according to the governor's office,[1] and larger than the state's largest single fire, the Carlton Complex Fire of 2014.

Beginning and growth

On September 7, a "historic fire event" with high winds resulted in 80 fires and nearly burned. Malden and Pine City, in the Palouse Country of Eastern Washington, were mostly destroyed by one of the fires.[2] The largest fire, Cold Springs Canyon Fire in Okanogan and Douglas Counties, was 10,000 acres on the evening of September 7 and had burned 175,000 acres by the morning of September 8. Owing to the Cold Springs Canyon Fire, the town of Mansfield was under "evacuate now" orders but all roads were closed.[3] Smoke blanketed the Seattle area on September 8 and caused unhealthy air conditions throughout the Puget Sound region, mostly from air spilling over the Cascade Range from Eastern Washington.[4] [5] The smoke was noticeable in many parts of southern British Columbia, leading to air quality advisories in areas including Vancouver and Victoria.[6] [7] Pearl Hill Fire began when the fire jumped over to cross the Columbia River into Bridgeport.[8] By the evening of September 8, the Cold Springs Canyon and adjacent Pearl Hill Fires had burned over and neither was more than 10% contained.[9] The Whitney Fire near Davenport was large by September 9, when it was 5% contained.[10] Pearl Hill Fire was 223,730 acres and over 90% contained by September 22; together Pearl Hill and Cold Springs Fires burned over .[8] [11]

Smaller fires in occurred in more populated areas of Western Washington. By September 9, the Sumner Grade Fire near Sumner closed Washington State Route 410, grew to 800 acres. Parts of Sumner and Bonney Lake were evacuated.[12]

Injuries, deaths, and losses

78 homes and 60 other structures were destroyed by the Cold Springs Fire, most of which were on the Colville Reservation.[13]

Infrastructure destroyed by the fires included the historic Manning-Rye Covered Bridge in the Palouse,[14] a wooden railroad trestle over the Yakima River near Prosser,[15] and two other railroad bridges in the Tri-Cities area.[16]

A one year old child was killed and the father and pregnant mother found on the banks of the Columbia River in Okanogan County badly burned, after attempting to outrun the Cold Springs Canyon Fire. The fire was considered by sheriff's detectives a potential homicide, if human-caused.[17] [18]

The smoke from the wildfire complex forced a Seattle Mariners game to be postponed.[19]

References

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Wildfires Lead to Helicopter Rescues in California and Destruction in Washington. September 8, 2020. The New York Times.
  2. News: NPR. Fast-Moving Wildfire Destroys 80% Of Small Town In Eastern Washington State. September 8, 2020.
  3. News: Cold Springs Canyon and Pearl Hill fires grow to 175K acres over night. Jennifer Forsmann . Mariah Valles . Katherine Barner. KHQ. September 8, 2020.
  4. Wildfire smoke has brought poor air quality to much of western WA. Everyone, especially sensitive groups, should limit time outdoors & avoid strenuous outdoor activities. ecyseattle. Washington Department of Ecology Northwest Region. September 8, 2020. 1303332677601304577.
  5. Web site: East WA wildfire smoke blows into Seattle as rare September windstorm blasts parts of area. Scott Sistek | KOMONews com. Meteorologist. September 7, 2020. KOMO.
  6. Web site: Smoke from Washington State wildfire blankets parts of Vancouver Island, B.C. Interior. Global News. September 8, 2020. September 8, 2020.
  7. Web site: Province issues Smoky Skies Bulletin for much of Vancouver Island due to Washington fires. CHEK News. September 8, 2020. September 8, 2020.
  8. News: Wenatchee World. Pearl Hill Fire 90% contained; Cold Springs Fire 60%. Pete O'Cain . Bridget Mire. September 14, 2020.
  9. News: Cold Springs and Pearl Hill Fires burns 337K acres collectively. Jennifer Forsmann . Mariah Valles . Katherine Barner . September 8, 2020. KHQ.
  10. News: Whitney Fire burning 100,000 acres in Lincoln County, 5% contained. KREM. KING-TV. September 9, 2020. September 9, 2020. September 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200915102151/https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/wildfire/whitney-fire-burning-near-davenport/293-02e07428-c07a-48f9-b755-d3a03be44cc0. dead.
  11. Web site: Pearl Hill Fire information. Inciweb incident information system. U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management. September 22, 2020.
  12. https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/sumner-grade-fire-triples-size-forces-more-evacuations/EL2QD4CQMJCYVKMJD7IZAQJAFQ/ Sumner Grade Fire slowing after destroying four homes
  13. News: Cold Springs Fire hit Colville homes hard. Luke Hollister. September 18, 2020. Wenatchee World.
  14. News: Mathia . Jana . September 8, 2020 . Blaze destroys structures near Colfax . . . September 8, 2020.
  15. News: Decades-old railroad bridge 'gone', railroad president says. Thomas Yazwinski. September 8, 2020. KOMO-TV. Seattle.
  16. News: Wind-whipped fires burn homesteads, 3 railroad bridges and more in Tri-Cities region. Kristin M. Kraemer. September 8, 2020. Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington.
  17. News: 1-year-old child killed, parents severely burned while fleeing Cold Springs Canyon fire . KCPQ-TV. Tacoma. September 10, 2020.
  18. News: Family says Renton couple whose toddler died in Cold Springs Fire also lost unborn child . KREM (Spokane). KING-TV. Seattle. September 13, 2020.
  19. https://www.sporttechie.com/west-coast-wildfires-postpone-mlb-game-in-seattle-shorten-lpga-event-in-portland West Coast Wildfires Postpone MLB Game in Seattle, Shorten LPGA Event in Portland

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