The 2017 Washington wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned over the course of 2017, a year that set weather records for heat and aridity in both Western Washington and Eastern Washington.
| 2017 Washington wildfires | |
|---|---|
 Wildfires burning September 3, 2017 (satellite image). Visible in the Cascades, north to south: Diamond Creek Fire, Jolly Mountain Fire, Norse Peak Fire | |
| Date(s) | May–October 2017 Statewide state of emergency: September 2, 2017[1] |
| Season | |
← 2016
2018 → | |
Timeline of events
editFire season officially began on April 15.[2] Training of state fire crews was conducted in May, as well as training of Washington National Guard in helitack insertion for fire crews.[3]
On the morning of August 1, smoke from BC fires pushed into the Seattle area, rapidly making Mount Rainier invisible on a cloudless day.[4] In early August, heavy smoke from British Columbia over Seattle earned the social media title "Smokezilla".[5] Mid-month, several large fires in the state's Cascades Range were ignited by lightning.[6]
On August 8, the city of Seattle recorded 52 straight days without rain, a new record.[7] The first measurable rainfall at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) was 0.02 inches in mid-August, setting a record 55 day dry streak.[8]
On September 2, the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, declared a state of emergency across all Washington counties due to wildfires.[1][9]
On September 5, ash from the Central Washington fires fell "like snow" on Seattle and as far west as Grays Harbor County which borders the Pacific Ocean.[10][11][12] University of Washington meteorology professor Cliff Mass said the situation in Seattle with "a smoke cloud so dense one would think it is low stratus deck" was unprecedented in his 30 years of experience.[13] The Air Quality Index reached "hazardous" in Spokane, the worst of six levels; it had reached hazardous the day before in Newport, Washington, the worst in the country.[14]
On September 5, Cle Elum-Roslyn School District announced the start of the school year would be postponed, and on the 6th, all classes and events in Ellensburg School District were canceled until September 11, due to unhealthy indoor air quality.[15][16]
The first significant rain wasn't until after mid September.[17] By the end of the summer, the official weather station at Sea-Tac, representing Western Washington's conditions, had recorded the hottest, driest summer since recordkeeping began with just over 0.5 inches (13 mm) of rain.[18] Eastern Washington also had a very dry year with Spokane setting a new record of 80 days without measurable rain.[19] A climate scientist at University of Idaho said that the extremes caused greater fire activity and were due to climate change, but not necessarily linked to human causes.[20]
List of fires
edit
- Leavenworth Fire, May[21]
- Spartan Fire, June[22]
- Sutherland Canyon and Straight Hollow fires, near Quincy, June[22]
- Diamond Creek Fire in Pasayten Wilderness, started late July[23][24] and spread to Canada near Manning Provincial Park on August 31[25]
- Noisy Creek Fire, in Colville National Forest, began July 15[26]
- Monument Hill Fire caused partial evacuation of Quincy in August[27]
- "Smokezilla": smoke from 2017 British Columbia wildfires affected Seattle in August[5][28]
- Norse Peak Fire began in August, caused closure of Chinook Pass highway[29]
- Jolly Mountain Fire began on August 11, evacuations began August 31
- On September 5, the Eagle Creek Fire jumped the Columbia Gorge from Oregon into Skamania County.[30]
Resources
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017) |
An infrared thermography-capable RC-26 surveillance aircraft and support crew from Washington Air National Guard were deployed to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane on August 12 in support of firefighting.[31][32]
On August 29, the Washington Military Department's Emergency Operation Center at Camp Murray was activated in response to the Jolly Mountain Fire.[33]
On September 5, the U.S. Army said 200 Washington-based soldiers were to be trained and sent to the Umpqua North Complex fires in Oregon's Umpqua National Forest.[34][35]
Further reading
edit- Stevens, Matt (August 1, 2017), "Pacific Northwest Fires Smother Region in Smoke and Ash", The New York Times
References
edit- ^ a b Tyrone Beason (September 2, 2017), "Wildfire risk prompts Inslee to declare statewide emergency", The Seattle Times
- ^ Kristian Foden-Vencil (April 14, 2017), It's Raining, But Wildfire Season Is Starting In Washington, Oregon Public Broadcasting
- ^ Ready for the 2017 Wildfire Season, Washington Department of Natural Resources, archived from the original on September 4, 2017
- ^ Cliff Mass (August 1, 2017), "Smoke Pushes Into Washington State", Cliff Mass weather blog
- ^ a b "Smoke from British Columbia fires shrouds Northwest with poor air quality, dubbed 'Smokezilla' by tweeters", Fox News, August 3, 2017, archived from the original on August 3, 2017
- ^ "Lightning sparks fires in Cascades; some trails closed", Yakima Herald-Republic, August 14, 2017
- ^ Seattle has never experienced this many days without rain, MYNORTHWEST.COM (KIRO-TV/KIRO radio), August 8, 2017
- ^ Rain breaks Seattle's record dry streak, KING-TV, August 13, 2017
- ^ "Gov. Inslee declares state of emergency due to wildfires", Spokesman-Review, Spokane, September 3, 2017
- ^ Scott Sistek (September 5, 2017), Ash falls across Seattle area from fires burning in Central Washington, KOMO-TV
- ^ Evan Bush (September 5, 2017), "Ash falls like snow in Seattle as wildfires rage in Pacific Northwest", Alaska Dispatch News, Anchorage
- ^ John Hopperstad (September 5, 2017), Ash from wildfires falling in areas of Puget Sound, KCPQ-TV
- ^ Cliff Mass (September 5, 2017), "Ash is Falling in Seattle", Cliff Mass weather blog
- ^ Spokane air quality 'Hazardous' as smoke blankets region, KREM-TV, September 5, 2017
- ^ School Start Delayed, Cle Elum-Roslyn School District, September 5, 2017
- ^ Ellensburg schools closed due to wildfire smoke, Yakima: KIMA-TV, September 7, 2017
- ^ Cliff Mass (September 12, 2017), "The Northwest's Summer Drought Will End on Sunday", Cliff Mass Weather Blog
- ^ Cliff Mass (September 22, 2017), "Autumn Starts Today Following the Driest and Warmest in Seattle Records", Cliff Mass Weather Blog
- ^ Spokane's streak without rain ends at 80 days, Spokane: Spokesman-Review, September 18, 2017
- ^ Wilson Criscione (September 5, 2017), "University of Idaho researcher says summer wildfire smoke will become more common across Inland Northwest", The Inlander, Spokane
- ^ "Wildfire forces evacuations at Washington state tourism spot". Fox News. May 24, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Associated Press (June 27, 2017). "Fires in Central Washington Cover More Than 11 Square Miles". usnews.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ "Diamond Creek Fire". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ "Firefighters getting a handle on wildfires in central Washington | The Spokesman-Review". spokesman.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Jesse Ferreras (August 31, 2017), "Massive Washington state wildfire jumps into B.C. between Manning and Cathedral Parks", Global News Morning, British Columbia, Canada
- ^ "Noisy Creek Fire near Sullivan Lake grows to about 1,700 acres; no structures threatened", Spokesman-Review, August 1, 2017
- ^ "500-acre wildfire in Grant County forces mandatory evacuations, knocks out power to Quincy | Q13 FOX News". q13fox.com. August 16, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Blinder, Alan; Caron, Christina (August 3, 2017), "Seattle Chokes as Wildfire Smoke From Canada Blankets the Northwest", The New York Times
- ^ "SR 410 remains closed as crews work Norse Peak fire | Local". yakimaherald.com. August 17, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ Eagle Creek fire jumps gorge into Washington, Seattle: KING-TV, September 5, 2017
- ^ National situation report (PDF), National Interagency Coordination Center, September 5, 2017
- ^ Bill Gabbert (August 16, 2017), Air Force reconnaissance aircraft is being used to detect and map wildfires in the Northwest, Fireaviation.org
- ^ Kittitas County Emergency Operations Center activated for Jolly Mountain Fire, Yakima: KAPP-TV, August 29, 2017, archived from the original on September 3, 2017, retrieved September 6, 2017
- ^ Ash and smoke prompt health warnings, shut down sporting events, expand burn ban, Associated Press, September 5, 2017 – via The Olympian
- ^ 200 active duty troops from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to deploy to Umpqua North Complex, KVAL-TV, September 5, 2017
External links
edit
- Northwest Interagency Coordination Center (NWCC) for Oregon and Washington
- Wildfire resources, Washington Department of Natural Resources
- Season timeline, Central Washington University (Ellensburg)