Get ready for more smoke and foul air this summer. This year's rate of wildfires has been record-breaking for Washington thus far, and it could get worse.
The average wildfire season in Washington starts in July and ends in September, but the state has already seen more fires in the first half of the year than ever before.
Washington has seen more wildfires in 2021 than the first six months of any year on record since the states' comprehensive tracking began in 2005, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
The state has responded to 564 fires this year, 137 of which have been on the West side of the Cascades. That's a 56 percent increase from 2020, when the state responded to 352 fires by June 30, and a 78 percent increase from the five-year average of 387, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said current trends across the state in development, fires and human behavior all point to a bad wildfire season. More predicted fire would mean more smoke for the Pacific Northwest region.
"When you add in the context that we have hotter, drier conditions, we now also have more people living amongst the forest, recreating on them, then you're going to see more fires," she said.
In 2020, working during the coronavirus pandemic, the state deployed fire-suppression aircraft with water or extinguishing chemicals instead of firefighter crews at the start of wildfire season.
Fighting a fire from the air costs more than ground crews, but the state felt it was a safer option than firefighters congregating in groups, said DNR spokeperson Thomas Kyle-Milward. The costs for 2020 wildfire season have not been finalized yet, he said, adding that reimbursements from the federal government likely offset much of the increased expense.
While the number of fires has increased, the state's more proactive attack led to fewer acres burned last summer, he added.
In 2020, 655 acres overseen by the DNR burned — the lowest recorded amount since 2011. The agency controls 13 million acres across Washington. Overall in 2020, 813,282 acres burned statewide, almost all of it on federal land, according to the Northwest Coordination Center, which monitors all wildfire activity in the region.
By comparison, 2021 has seen 1,340 acres of DNR-controlled land burned. In its seasonal outlook report, the Northwest Coordination Center predicts almost all of the Northwest region "is expected to experience significant fire potential that is above average into September before returning to normal by October."
Abnormally Dry Season
Twenty-nine of Washington's 39 counties are under a drought advisory. Most are east of the Cascades or on the Olympic Peninsula.
"That leaves a very significant reason why we should all be very, very concerned," Franz said of the drought season.
Washington state climatologist Nick Bond said the state, especially Eastern Washington, is at an elevated risk for wildfires after such a dry spring.
Washington's temperate summers aren't full of rain like the winters, Bond said, so residents shouldn't expect to make up the rainfall before wildfire season worsens.
Department of Ecology drought coordinator Jeff Marti said Washington is living in two realities this summer, both of which could lead to bad wildfires. The Puget Sound counties that rely on snowpack are doing better than those that rely on lowland rivers.
The heavier snowfall that melts into rivers flowing to the Puget Sound is helping King, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties get through the drought, while lowland rivers have become more like streams, Marti said.
Even so, all of the Evergreen State is seeing less rain. March through May was the second driest such period for Washington state since 1895, the Department of Ecology said.
East of the Cascades, spring saw 30 percent or less of normal precipitation rates from March through May. Some lower elevations, like Walla Walla and Yakima, have seen as little as 20 percent of their normal precipitation rates, Bond said.
Less water leads to stress on trees.
"The tree becomes weaker and less able to defend itself against insects and pathogens and becomes more vulnerable to disease," Marti said. "Trees eventually die, and then it becomes fuel for wildfires."
July 4th Concerns
Every year, an average of 80 percent of fires are caused by humans, Franz said.
Franz is worried about fireworks set off near forests, brush or dry grass. The majority of fires this year and in 2020 have traced to property owners setting debris alight.
"They're lighting them on fire, and they're not aware of how hot and dry the condition is of the landscape. They may not be aware of the winds and how quickly it can pick up those flames and burn so quickly," she said.
Many cities and counties have banned fireworks, like Auburn, Steilacoom, Ruston, Fircrest, Tacoma, and King, Thurston and Clark counties.
Pierce County has set a burn ban countywide until further notice, but the County Council declined to pass an emergency firework ban on Tuesday, despite the extreme dryness and heat.
Preparing for the Wildfires
One of Franz's priorities has been to clear the forested parts of the state of dead trees and overgrown vegetation, which spread fire quickly. The department has set a goal of restoring 1.25 million acres of forests over the next 20 years. In the last four years, the state has restored 250,000 acres.
Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation this year that budgets $500 million over eight years to increase response to wildfires, accelerate forest restoration and help communities.
Some of the funding will support firefighters, like East Pierce Fire & Rescue. Chief Jon Parkinson said the Sumner Grade Fire last year was unlike anything he had seen before.
For the first time in decades, Pierce County neighborhoods were in danger from a forest fire.
More than 3,700 residents were evacuated from Bonney Lake, Sumner and Graham last September when strong winds toppled power lines, causing fires. Pierce County saw a total of seven homes and 16 other structures destroyed and 759 acres burned.
In Graham, about 100 acres were scorched on Sept. 8 and more than 100 people were evacuated from rural neighborhoods for almost two days.
For firefighters, battling wildland fires is more exhausting and labor-intensive than house fires. Within the last five years, East Pierce added one and two more firefighters to each shift, and the chief said it has made all the difference.
"Without that small jump in staffing, the outcome of the Sumner Grade (fire) would have been different than what we saw," Parkinson said.
Fire departments in more urban areas, like West Pierce Fire & Rescue, have upped their wildfire training. The department's communications manager, Jenny Weekes, said the department typically does not train as much for wildfires but last year's East Pierce County fires in Graham and Sumner indicated western Washington is going to see more significant fires.
Firefighters are being trained in wildland fire behavior, and West Pierce hopes to reach wildfire certification next spring.
Parkinson is worried that the new uptick in fires will strain manpower and state and federal resources.
The Department of Natural Resources estimates 2.2 million homes are in wildfire-risk areas across the state.
The Department of Natural Resources recommends those in forested areas create "defensible spaces" around their home, that buffers the house from vegetation that could spread embers in a wildfire. Franz said the few homes in the town-decimating Malden fire in Whitman County that survived had defensible spaces.
"What people do right now to make their homes more resilient to fire will absolutely have give them a greater chance of protecting their homes, their families, and the firefighters who are putting their lives on the line as they protect those homes from fire," she said.
Smoke
Even if counties are not directly affected by wildfires, smoke will still waft in.
Erik Saganic oversees the air monitoring and forecasting team for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. He told The News Tribune the intensity of smoke will be dependent on wildfire severity, rainfall and lightning, but dryness and heat suggests Western Washington can expect a season of heavy smoke.
"In the last four years, the wildfire smoke has been worse every year with each event," he said.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department's Director of Health Dr. Anthony Chen said this year is likely to look like last year's, with days of thick, hazy air.
Saganic recommended we might hold on to our masks a little longer, because they could be useful during smokey days.
Chen's June 17 blog post recommended residents check air pollution monitors, shop for HEPA filters if someone in the home has respiratory concerns or a history of heart disease or stroke.
