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Boston Globe
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Washington state braces for ‘inevitable' megafire
'It used to be that it really wasn't until mid-August that fuels dried out in western Washington,' said Derek Churchill, a forest health scientist at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. 'Now it's July or earlier.' Last month, human activity started a wildfire in the Olympic National Forest. As of Tuesday, it had grown to more than 5,100 acres, and some campgrounds were under evacuation orders. Fire in western Washington is not a natural part of the ecosystem's annual rhythm, as it is for drier grasslands and pine forests in the eastern part of the state. Instead, every few hundred years, a megafire strikes, burning hundreds of thousands of acres, replacing whole forests with slopes of charred spindles. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up But global warming is changing fire patterns in the state. Washington's summers are growing longer, hotter, and drier, resulting in an extended fire season with more desiccated fuel available. Paired with swelling populations throughout Puget Sound, it's a recipe for more frequent annual fires. Advertisement More frequent fires in turn increase the odds, slightly but surely, that a megafire will occur. The only question is timing. As a result, forest managers and firefighters are keeping a wary eye on smaller fires like the Bear Gulch fire burning in the Olympics. The last megafire destroyed western Washington in the early 20th century. More recent fires have been smaller, but concerning. In 1978, more than 1,000 acres burned in the Hoh Rainforest, which can receive as much annual precipitation as the wettest reaches of the Amazon Rainforest. In 2015, more than 2,000 acres of the Olympic rainforest caught fire along the Queets River before fall rains extinguished it. Advertisement The recent fires in wet forests were 'a wake-up call,' said Kyle Smith, the Washington state director of forest conservation at The Nature Conservancy, which manages several forest sites around the state. 'It was alarming to see fire burning in the Queets valley.' A 2022 fire in the Cascades raised alarm bells, too. It burned along a highway some 60 miles from Seattle, in a popular spot for hiking. State forest managers are now figuring out how to respond to two problems simultaneously: a changing fire season with increased odds of smaller, more frequent fires, and the threat of the next megafire in its rainforests. While there are time-tested strategies to fight fires in dry eastern Washington — with its grasslands and stands of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine — wet, rugged western Washington is a different beast altogether. 'Folks think the recipe for the east will work in the west, and it does not,' said George Geissler, the top forester for Washington state. 'It's way more complicated.' Fires in the west grow slowly but steadily, smoldering as they feed on feet-thick layers of crispy moss and decaying cedar. Steep terrain and thick vegetation limit what firefighters can do on the ground; a dense canopy can block water and fire retardant from being delivered by air. Advertisement The job is so much tougher in the west that a firefighting team needs about four times as many people for a fire of the same size in eastern Washington, said Tim Sampson, a deputy division manager for wildland fire for Washington state. Fire breaks, or strips of cleared-out vegetation, can help keep a fire from spreading. In arid eastern Washington, a fire break might be good for decades. But in the wet half of the state, digging through all the dead vegetation on the forest floor is excruciating and slow work. Vegetation grows back so quickly that the break would likely disappear in a year or two. 'Out here, I could put a stick in the ground and it would grow,' Geissler said. One big risk to overall forest health in Washington is drought, Churchill said. Restoring streams and removing invasive species can reduce competition among trees for water, making them less vulnerable to drought — and therefore less likely to dry out and burn. Getting community support to manage forests can be difficult, especially in places where living with fire is relatively new, Smith said. Some residents see tree thinning and forest clearing as environmentally damaging. Pairing thinning with ecosystem restoration, which also benefits salmon and other species, can be an easier sell. But planning for megafires requires an entirely different approach from fighting annual fires. 'The big fires that have occurred in the past are fires we can't fight,' Geissler said. Firefighters can't put out a wildfire that covers 100,000 acres of steep, inaccessible mountains. Instead, much of their planning is focused on identifying high-risk places to protect, like communities, and spots where fire breaks should be created in the event of a big fire. Advertisement Emergency planners have found that wildfire risk awareness among western Washington residents is mixed, as is their receptiveness to hearing about the dangers. Trying to improve public awareness, then, is an important part of the state's planning around both increased annual fire risk and the potential for a megafire. The state is trying to finalize its plans for dealing with its new wildfire reality at the same time, there has been an uptick in fire incidents in western Washington. That stretches firefighting resources and requires officials to try to stay one step ahead of fires, putting teams and gear in place in the highest-risk spots. 'The biggest challenge we have is folks believing 'it could never happen here,'' Geissler said. 'The hardest thing to do is to get people to realize they're part of it.' This article originally appeared in
New York Times
06-08-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
Washington State Braces for ‘Inevitable' Megafire. Climate Change May Bring It Sooner.
Western Washington state is one of the wettest places in the country. In the North Cascade mountains and on the Olympic Peninsula, lush cedars, ferns and mosses form classic Pacific Northwest rainforests. But even here, climate change is making wildfires more likely. And the state is figuring out how to respond. 'It used to be that it really wasn't until mid-August that fuels dried out in western Washington,' said Derek Churchill, a forest health scientist at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. 'Now it's July or earlier.' In fact, last month human activity started a wildfire in the Olympic national forest. As of Tuesday, it had grown to more than 5,100 acres and some campgrounds were under evacuation orders. Fire in Western Washington is not a natural part of the ecosystem's annual rhythm, as it is for drier grasslands and pine forests in the eastern part of the state. Instead, every few hundred years, a megafire strikes, burning hundreds of thousands of acres, replacing whole forests with slopes of charred spindles. But global warming is changing fire patterns in the state. Washington's summers are growing longer, hotter and drier, resulting in an extended fire season with more desiccated fuel available. Paired with swelling populations throughout Puget Sound, it's a recipe for more frequent annual fires. More frequent fires in turn increase the odds, slightly but surely, that a megafire will occur. The only question is timing. As a result, forest managers and firefighters are keeping a wary eye on smaller fires like the Bear Gulch fire currently burning in the Olympics. The last megafire razed western Washington in the early 20th century. More recent fires have been smaller, but concerning. In 1978, more than 1,000 acres burned in the Hoh Rainforest, which can receive as much annual precipitation as the wettest reaches of the Amazon Rainforest. In 2015, more than 2,000 acres of the Olympic rainforest caught fire along the Queets River before fall rains extinguished it. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wildfire near Cle Elum burns 44 acres, damages 2 homes, officials say
A fast-moving wildfire that started Monday afternoon north of Red Bridge Road near Cle Elum has grown to an estimated 44 acres with no containment as of Tuesday morning, according to emergency officials. The Red Bridge Road Fire began around 3:57 p.m. Monday in an area northeast of Cle Elum, between Wheil Ridge Road and the Teanaway River. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, command of the fire was officially transferred to the Southeast Washington Incident Management Team. Local crews from Kittitas County Fire District 7 and the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) worked through the night to contain the fire and protect nearby structures. Statewide firefighting resources have also been mobilized. Two homes—one primary residence and one secondary—have been damaged by the fire, officials said. Evacuation orders remain in effect. A Level 3 evacuation—the highest warning level—has been issued for residents north of Red Bridge Road between Wheil Ridge Road and the Teanaway River. A Level 2 evacuation remains in place from State Route 970 to Red Bridge Road and from Teanaway Road to the Teanaway River. Residents are urged to stay informed through the Kittitas County Live Active Fire Map. A shelter has been set up for evacuees at the Centennial Center in Cle Elum at 719 East 3rd Street. Fire behavior Tuesday is expected to be influenced by warm, breezy conditions and possible red flag warnings. Although the fire is currently smoldering within its footprint, officials caution that conditions could change quickly. About 150 personnel are currently assigned to the fire. Crews will continue efforts to secure the perimeter and protect structures throughout the day. Air quality in nearby communities is currently rated good to moderate, but may worsen depending on fire activity and shifting winds. A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place over the fire zone. Fire officials stress that unauthorized aircraft, including drones, must not enter the area. If a drone is spotted, all aerial firefighting efforts must be halted for safety reasons. For updates, residents can visit the Red Bridge Road Fire InciWeb page, the SEWAIMT Facebook page, or call the fire information line at 509-606-8016. The Red Bridge Road Fire remains active with no estimated time for containment.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Washington DNR sends 200 firefighters to help with Canada wildfires
The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is sending more than 200 firefighters to Canada to help battle large wildfires in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It's part of the agency's Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement with Canada. 'Wildfires and climate change don't recognize borders, which is why it's critically important we're able to provide our neighbors the certainty we'll be there to help when they need it most,' Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said. 'With only a line on a map separating Washington from Canada, I'm proud to have a team who can quickly respond to help our neighbors in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the same way Canadian firefighters have helped us with fires in the Okanogan or North Cascades.' DNR has sent eight contracted 20-person hand crews, a DNR 20-person hand crew, a DNR 10-person hand crew, one DNR strike team of engines, and leadership personnel. 'This is a great example of why regional compacts and state-to-state agreements are such a vital part of wildfire suppression preparation and response,' said George Geissler, DNR's State Forester and Deputy Supervisor responsible for Wildland Fire Management. 'We have a strong working relationship with Canada, which sent aircraft to assist on a fire on the Washington side of the border just last month. Now it's our turn to lend a helping hand.' DNR says it remains fully staffed and prepared to respond to any fires that pop up across Washington state. Wildfire season typically ramps up during July and August. According to DNR, nearly 90 percent of Washington wildfires are started by human activity.
05-06-2025
- Business
Flying boats make for a rare sight as Washington clears an island of derelict vessels by helicopter
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- As the owner of a marina, Kate Gervais is used to seeing boats in the water. But for the last couple of days, she's been seeing them in the air. The Washington Department of Natural Resources this week used one of its firefighting helicopters to haul abandoned boats off an uninhabited island in the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound, where the vessels had come to rest after drifting with the currents, and fly them to the mainland to be deconstructed later. With 14 vessels removed, it was the agency's largest operation of its kind, officials said. 'It was a very, very weird sight,' said Gervais, who owns Boston Harbor Marina, just north of Olympia. 'The sail boat with the mast was the weirdest one to see.' A boat removal by helicopter is typically done by a private pilot, but for this operation, which was funded by a federal grant, the DNR opted to use one of its firefighting helicopters. It was cheaper and helped stretch the $1 million NOAA grant, said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove. The state agency opts to airlift boats when towing them would disrupt the marine bed or surrounding environment too much. The aquatic lands where the boats land often include kelp beds, which are critical for supporting the forage fish that salmon rely on. Vessels for this operation where found in hard-to-reach coves, at the tree line or in mud that rendered an airlift a better option, agency staff said. Since the boat removal program began in 2002, the department has hauled out more than 1,200 derelict vessels. There are at least 300 more out there, with more found all the time, Upthegrove said. 'It's a real challenge impacting the Puget Sound when people essentially dump their old boats into the water because they don't want to deal with disposing of them," he said. "That burden then falls on all of us.' The federal grant allowed the state to clean up boats on Squaxin Island, an uninhabited island that is of particular cultural importance to the Squaxin Island Tribe. The tribe's people once shared vast lands in western Washington state, but following the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, the island — 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) long and half a mile (800 meters) wide — was the main area reserved for them, according to the tribe's website. Eventually, the tribe's members moved off the island, but they continue to use it for fishing, hunting, shellfish gathering and camping. 'The Squaxin Island Tribe is very enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with DNR to clean-up derelict vessels on tribal lands,' said Daniel Kuntz, the tribe's policy and program manager. 'Maintaining clean beaches and water are essential to the Squaxin Island culture to ensure gathering access for future generations.'
