2021 Washington wildfires explained

2021 Washington wildfires
Total Area:Over (as of August 15)
Total Fires:Over 836 (as of late July)
Date:March 2021–October 2021
Statewide state of emergency: July 6, 2021
Is Season:yes
Year:2021
Season Name:Washington wildfires

The 2021 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2021. By late April, all of Eastern Washington had been classified by the United States Drought Monitor as "abnormally dry" with moderate to severe drought conditions.[1] The state had more than 630 wildfires by the first week of July, on par with the state's record 2015 wildfire season.[2]

Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported the end of the fire season by October 12,[3] and the DNR and the Northwest Interargency Fire Center reported zero fires in the state on October 14.[4]

Fires

List of notable fires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

NameCounty AcresStart DateContained DateCauseNotes
Lind fireChelan June 29
Asotin June 21 Lightning
Batterman Fire Douglas July 12
Green Ridge FireGarfield, Columbia
Lick Creek (Dry Gulch) FireAsotin (97%) Lightning
Burbank Fire Yakima
Cedar Creek Fire Okanogan August 15, 2021 (50%) Lightning Closed North Cascades Highway
Summit Trail FireOkanagan Lightning
Chuweah Creek FireOkanagan (98%) Lightning Dwellings lost, Keller and Nespelem evacuated
Red Apple Fire Chelan (90%) Human Over 1,500 homes told to evacuate
Cub Creek 2 Fire Okanogan Hazardous air quality in Twisp; dwellings lost
Whitmore Fire Okanogan Lightning/Natural As many as 500 residences under Level 2 evacuations.
Walker Creek Fire Okanogan Unknown Merged with Spur Fire. (Size is both Spur and Walker Creek Fire combined.)
Schneider Springs Fire Yakima Lightning Caused poor air quality across Eastern Washington and in Puget Sound region. Biggest fire burning in Washington State .
Twenty-Five Mile Fire Chelan Caused evacuations and loss of one home; countywide state of emergency declared

Timeline of events

The month of April had more fires than the previous year,[5] and a year-to-date record 410 fires occurred on state-managed lands by the second week of June.[6]

The Joseph Canyon Fire burned on both sides of the Oregon–Washington border during June. It was ignited by lightning during the night of June 3–4.[7]

The Hair Road Fire in Walla Walla County south of Lower Monumental Dam grew to 10,000 acres before being contained on June 21.[8]

A brush fire near Lind in Adams County was ignited on the morning of June 27 and grew to 20,000 acres the same day. It resulted in the closure of Washington State Route 21.[9] By June 29, it was 100% contained.[10]

The Cedar Hills Fire began on June 28 near the Seattle suburb of Issaquah and grew to over 30 acres, involving Eastside Fire and Rescue and state firefighting resources.[11]

Smoke from British Columbia fires that occurred during the 2021 Western North America heat wave began to enter Washington in early July.[12] [13]

The Batterman Fire in Douglas County near East Wenatchee (47.409°N -120.176°W) began on Independence Day in the hills above Pangborn Memorial Airport.[14] By July 6, it had burned, and many residents had been ordered to evacuate.[15] Batterman Road and Rock Island Grade Road along Rock Island Creek were closed.[16] The fire was reported fully contained on July 12, with a revised burned area of .[17]

The governor declared a state of emergency on July 6.[18]

The 300+ acre Andrus Road fire in the Spokane suburbs drew firefighters from as far away as Thurston and Lewis County in Western Washington, hundreds of miles away.[19]

Lightning on July 7 ignited many fires in Eastern Washington including the Asotin Complex Fire near Clarkston which grew to several hundred acres before the end of the day.[20] The Dry Gulch Fire, part of the complex, grew to over 38,000 acres by July 10 and was burning in rugged terrain with heavy fuels.[21] By July 12, it had reached 55,055 acres.[22] The Lick Creek and Dry Gulch fires were administratively merged on July 12, with a combined reported July 14.[23] [24] By July 22, the Lick Creek Fire was 76,167 acres in size.[25] By July 26, it was 90% contained.[26]

On July 12, the Burbank Fire burning around Burbank Creek in the Yakima River Canyon and extending into the Yakima Training Center reached .[27] It was declared contained on July 14 after 13,000 acres burned.[28]

A portion of the North Cascades Highway was closed due to the Cedar Creek Fire on July 12.[29] It was to remain closed for at least several days as the Varden Fire nearby grew to several hundred acres.[30] The fires merged and reached 2,900 acres on July 15.[31] The fire grew to 18,634 acres by July 21,[32] to 20,806 acres by July 23,[33] and had grown to 52,030 acres by August 4.[34]

Until July, no heavy smoke events had impacted ground-level air quality in the state's largest cities of Seattle and Spokane in Western Washington and Eastern Washington respectively, but there was the possibility of smoke entering the state from large Western fires like the Oregon Bootleg Fire.[35] [36] On July 13, Spokane media reported smoke had begun to affect the air, becoming "unhealthy for some".[37] [38]

The Summit Trail Fire was started by lightning on the Colville reservation on July 12 and grew to over by July 19.[39] By July 22, it was almost 6,000 acres,[40] and by July 26, it was 11,256 acres.[41]

Seven homes were lost in the Chuweah Creek Fire at Nespelem, Washington on July 12–13, which caused evacuation of the town and burned over .[42] [43] The fire grew to 22,900 acres by July 15,[44] and over 37,000 acres by July 16; the town of Keller, Washington was also evacuated.[45] [46] The fire was 97% contained by August 9.[47]

The Red Apple Fire, caused by an illegal burn around 47.5016°N -120.4194°W in Cashmere,[48] [49] [50] prompted evacuation of hundreds of residents in the Wenatchee area July 13–14, including "leave now" orders for some.[51] [52] U.S. Route 97 Alternate was closed on July 14 due to the fire.[53] The fire grew to 9,000 acres on July 14 and people in over 1,000 homes were told to evacuate.[54] On July 15 it was 11,000 acres, and evacuations were ordered for 1,500 homes.[55] It was 90% contained by July 19.[56]

The Cub Creek 2 Fire broke out north of Winthrop in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and Washington DNR lands on July 16. Evacuations were ordered around Winthrop on July 17.[57] It grew to 4,690 acres by the end of the day on July 18, affecting air quality in Twisp and elsewhere in the Methow Valley.[58] The air quality index in Twisp was rated hazardous on July 19.[59] On the morning of July 20, the fire had grown to 32,473 acres and was 5% contained.[60] The National Weather Service posted images of pyrocumulus clouds generated by Cub Creek, visible from the agency's Seattle office over away.[61] Two dwellings were destroyed by July 20.[62] The fire grew to over by July 23, and over 44,000 acres by July 26,[63] [64] 52,387 acres by July 28,[65] and 58,793 acres by August 3.[66]

All state forest lands in Eastern Washington were closed to the public on July 20 due to fire danger.[67]

Due to ongoing and widespread PM particulate content in the air from multiple wildfires, children, the very old or pregnant, and other residents with respiratory conditions in parts of Okanogan County were advised in July to leave the area for their health.[68] Air quality in the Methow Valley was the unhealthiest in the nation at several points in July.[69] [70] The U.S. National Weather Service Spokane office tweeted that Methow Valley's air quality could be the worst anywhere on the Earth on July 23.[71]

The Schneider Springs Fire rose near Naches, Washington during a thunderstorm on August 4. It caused poor air quality across Eastern Washington and in Puget Sound region around August 12.[72] [73] By August 18 it had grown to 31,868 acres.[74]

The Twenty-Five Mile Fire started near Twenty-Five Mile Creek State Park on August 15.[75]

External links

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Seattle P-I. Wildfire concerns loom with dry weather outlook in Washington. Callie Craighead. April 29, 2021 . June 14, 2021.
  2. News: State: 2021 Shaping up as Bad Wildfire Season in Washington. July 8, 2021. Associated Press.
  3. News: Is fire season year-round now. Northwest Public Radio. October 12, 2021. Lauren Gallup.
  4. 1449049246011822082. Good news! Zero large fires in Washington state right now.. October 15, 2021. Washington State DNR Wildfire. waDNR_fire.
  5. News: Washington DNR predicts challenging 2021 wildfire season. Kierra Elfalan. June 10, 2021. In April alone, Washington state saw over 220 wildfires compared to 160 wildfires last April. . KING-TV. June 14, 2021.
  6. News: The Seattle Times. Washington heads into wildfire season with a drought and 410 blazes so far on state land. June 13, 2021 . Joseph O'Sullivan. June 14, 2021.
  7. Web site: Inciweb fire incident information system. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al.. Joseph Canyon Fire. July 1, 2021.
  8. News: Walla Walla fire burns approximately 10,000 acres before being contained. Yaktrinews.com. KVEW-TV. Kennewick, Washington. June 21, 2021.
  9. News: Washington Wildfire Update as Lind Blaze Burns 20,000 Acres. Soo Kim. June 28, 2021. Newsweek.
  10. News: Lind Fire is 100-percent contained, local agencies mopping up. June 29, 2021. Connor Sarles. KXLY. Spokane.
  11. News: Crews tackle brush fire near Issaquah. June 28, 2021. KIRO-TV. Seattle.
  12. News: KIRO-TV. Seattle. Canadian wildfire smoke creeping its way south to Washington air space. July 2, 2021 . Hanna Scott.
  13. News: Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington. Smoke from British Columbia wildfires rolling south to spoil Tri-Cities skies. July 2, 2021.
  14. News: KPQ (AM). Wenatchee. July 4, 2021. Kyle Lamb. Batterman Fire Outside East Wenatchee Over 750 Acres.
  15. News: More evacuations as wildfire in Central Washington grows. July 6, 2021. Times WUnion. Albany, New York.
  16. Web site: Inciweb fire incident information system. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al.. Batterman Fire. July 6, 2021.
  17. News: Batterman Road Fire fully contained; evacuations lifted. Joe Utter. July 12, 2021. iFiberOne News. Ephrata, Washington.
  18. News: Inslee declares wildfire state of emergency for Washington. KING-TV. July 6, 2021.
  19. 1412449524400881670. I've seen crews from Thurston, Olympia, Kittitas, Price, Grant, Lewis, and many more here working to fight the 300 acre fire burning in Cheney.. Bradley Warren (KHQ reporter). bradmwarren. July 6, 2021.
  20. News: Wildfires burning all over Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington; Wednesday red flag warning predicts dangerous conditions for new and existing fires. Nico Portuondo. July 7, 2021. Spokesman-Review. Spokane.
  21. Web site: Dry Gulch Fire noon update. July 10, 2021. Inciweb fire incident information system. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al..
  22. Web site: Dry Gulch Fire general information. July 12, 2021. Inciweb fire incident information system. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al.. July 13, 2021.
  23. Lick Creek (Dry Gulch) Fire Quick Facts, Asotin County Fire District #1, July 12 11:41 PM via Facebook
  24. Web site: Lick Creek Fire general information. July 14, 2021. Inciweb fire incident information system. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al.. July 14, 2021.
  25. Web site: Washington smoke blog. Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Health, U.S. Forest Service, Washington county health departments. July 22, 2021. Smoke Outlook for SE Washington - Lick Creek/Green Ridge.
  26. Web site: Inciweb. Lick Creek Fire Update . July 26, 2021.
  27. Web site: Inciweb fire incident information system. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al.. Burbank Wildfire Morning Update. July 12, 2021.
  28. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7650/60975/ Burbank Fire final update
  29. News: 7-mile stretch of North Cascades Highway closed for wildfire response. KING-TV. July 12, 2021.
  30. News: North Cascades Hwy. to stay closed for several more days west of Winthrop. KOMO-TV. Seattle. July 13, 2021.
  31. News: Cedar Creek Fire Combines with Varden Fire, Still 0% Contained. Kyle Lamb. KPQ. Wenatchee.
  32. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7655/61668/ 7/22 Cedar Creek and Delancy Morning Update
  33. News: UPDATED: Cedar Creek, Cub Creek fire news, evacuations. July 22, 2021. Methow Valley News.
  34. Web site: Inciweb. Cedar Creek Wildfire daily update. August 4, 2021.
  35. News: Where there's no smoke, there's still fire: Spokane fortunate to avoid smoke but luck could change at anytime. July 13, 2021. Nico Portuondo . Spokesman-Review. Spokane.
  36. News: Wildfire smoke difficult to predict for Puget Sound. KING-TV. Seattle. July 13, 2021.
  37. News: Smoke rolls into Spokane; near-record heat on tap but slight reprieve forecast. July 13, 2021. Spokesman-Review. Spokane.
  38. News: Spokane air quality worsens to 'unhealthy for some'. July 13, 2021. Connor Sarles. KXLY. Spokane.
  39. Web site: SUMMIT TRAIL FIRE: Fire now 4,100 acres, 0 percent contained. July 19, 2021. Tribal Tribune. Nespelem, Washington.
  40. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7677/61655/ Summit Trail Fire Update, July 22, 2021
  41. Web site: Summit Trail Fire update. July 26, 2021. California Incident Management Team 10. Inciweb. 2021-07-26. 2021-07-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20210726184547/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/WACOA/2021-07-17-0920-Summit-Trail/related_files/pict20210626-095618-0.pdf. dead.
  42. News: KOMOTV. Seattle. Hundreds flee the flames as new wildfire erupts in Okanogan County. July 13, 2021. KATU.
  43. News: Spokesman-Review. Spokane. Nespelem evacuated after lightning fire burns over 10,000 acres, 7 homes. July 13, 2021. Emma Epperly.
  44. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7664/61056/ Chuweah Creek Fire update
  45. News: Chuweah Creek fire in Washington burns 53 square miles, 14 structures. July 16, 2021 . Christine Clarridge. The Seattle Times.
  46. News: Update: Chuweah Creek Fire 37,283 as containment crews work around the clock . Pete O'Cain . Luke Hollister. Wenatchee World.
  47. News: Updates given on Summit Trail, Upper Lime Creek, and Chuweah Creek Fires. The Star. Grand Coulee, Washington.
  48. News: Officers search home believed to be origin of fire outside Wenatchee. Elise Takahama. The Seattle Times. July 15, 2021. The Columbian.
  49. News: KCPQ-TV. Tacoma. Investigators: Red Apple Fire was started by humans. July 17, 2021.
  50. News: Chelan County Sheriff's Office reveals likely cause of Red Apple Fire; search warrant executed at local home. Shawn Goggins . July 14, 2021. iFiberOne News. Ephrata, Washington.
  51. News: The Seattle Times. Red Apple fire near Wenatchee prompts evacuations. July 14, 2021 . Christine Clarridge .
  52. Web site: Update | Red Apple Fire 90% contained. Pete. O'Cain. The Wenatchee World. 20 July 2021 .
  53. News: Evacuations in place for Red Apple fire burning 4,000 acres in Chelan County. July 14, 2021 . KHQ. Spokane.
  54. News: State of emergency declared in Chelan County as Red Apple Fire grows to 9,000 acres. KING-TV. Seattle. July 14, 2021.
  55. News: Red Apple fire grows to 11,000 acres, evacuation orders in place. The Seattle Times. July 15, 2021.
  56. News: Wenatchee World. Update: Red Apple Fire 90% contained. Pete O'Cain. July 18, 2021.
  57. Web site: New fires erupt, prompting immediate evacuations near Rice and Winthrop as forecast remains unclear. July 17, 2021. Sydney Brown. Spokesman-Review. Spokane.
  58. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7675/61338/ Cub Creek 2 Evening Update
  59. https://enviwa.ecology.wa.gov/home/map Washington air monitoring network air quality program
  60. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/7675/61477/ 7/20 Cub Creek 2 Morning Update
  61. Web site: 'Good news' for Puget Sound smoke forecast despite ongoing wildfires. July 20, 2021. Mynorthwest.com (KIRO radio/TV).
  62. News: BREAKING: Cedar Creek, Cub Creek fires force level 3 evacuations. July 20, 2021. Methow Valley News. Twisp, Washington.
  63. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7675/ Cub Creek 2 fire information page
  64. News: Methow Valley News. July 26, 2021. UPDATED: Cedar Creek, Cub Creek fire news, evacuationsv.
  65. Web site: Cub Creek 2 Fire Morning Update . July 28, 2021. Inciweb. USDA, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, et al..
  66. Web site: Inciweb. Cub Creek 2 Fire update. August 3, 2021.
  67. News: With fires 'smashing records,' state closes DNR lands in Eastern Washington. Mynorthwest.com (KIRO radio/TV). July 20, 2021. The temporary closure will apply to DNR-managed state lands, conservation areas, community forests, and any associated roads, trails, campgrounds, and recreational sites or recreational facilities..
  68. News: Smoky conditions pose health risks. July 21, 2021 . Marcy Stamper. Methow Valley News.
  69. News: Spokane air quality takes a turn for the worse as Methow Valley experiences unhealthiest air quality in nation. Nico Portuondo. July 22, 2021. Spokesman-Review. Spokane.
  70. News: Methow Valley sees worst air quality in the U.S. once again. July 25, 2021 . Connor Sarles. KXLY. Spokane.
  71. 1418590387703218178. NWSSpokane. July 23, 2021. Judging by this website, and discarding some assumed bad data points, #Methow might have the poorest air quality on the planet this morning..
  72. Web site: Schneider Springs fire grows to 7,000 acres, still 0% contained. 12 August 2021.
  73. News: Smoke from Canada arrives, air quality alert issued for some parts of Puget Sound. August 12, 2021 . The Seattle Times.
  74. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7775/ Schneider Springs Fire
  75. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7804/ Twenty-Five Mile Fire information

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