Total fires 7+ | Fatalities 0 | |
Total area 201,095 acres (81,380 ha) (as of August 23) | ||
The 2016 Washington wildfires season were a series of wildfires in the U.S. state of Washington.
Contents
July
In late July, two fires in eastern Yakima County burned more than 1,500 acres (610 ha) before being contained.
The Range 12 Fire was started on July 31 and quickly grew to over 177,000 acres (72,000 ha), covering parts of Benton and Yakima counties, before being contained in early August. The fire was the third in recent years to affect the area surrounding the Hanford Reach National Monument and the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve, but was contained quickly through the use of controlled burns.
August
In August, the area surrounding Spokane, the state's second largest city, was threatened with three active wildfires.
In late August, Wellesley and Yale fires merged to form the Spokane Complex Fire. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents in the Moccasin Bay area of Spangle. By August 22, fires in Spokane County had destroyed 10 homes. The Hart Road Fire in nearby Lincoln County grew to more than 1,600 acres (650 ha) and triggered the evacuation of nearby residents, and destroyed 11 homes.
A series of lightning strike fires in the Olympic Mountains were visible from the Seattle area and lowered air quality to "moderate" levels as rated by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
On August 23, Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in 20 of Washington's 39 counties, mostly in Eastern Washington, citing limited local firefighting resources. Inslee blamed ongoing climate change for creating "explosive conditions" in the state's forests and wild lands, fueling stronger wildfires in recent years.
Another pair of lightning strike fires in the Glacier Peak Wilderness created hazy conditions over Wenatchee to the east.