Wildland firefighters train in North Bend as grasses near critically dry levels
NORTH BEND, Wash. — Wildland firefighters training in North Bend are preparing for what state officials say could be a long and more severe-than-average fire season, as grasses and shrubs across Washington are expected to dry out to critical levels in the coming weeks.
Crews spent the afternoon at the Interagency Wildland Fire Academy, where firefighters are doing field exercises ahead of conditions that could help new wildfires spread and grow quickly.
“Fire is a wild creature. It’s hard to tame, and it does things we’re not always prepared for,” said Sean Kibbe, a Department of Natural Resources fire training manager.
While much of Western Washington’s vegetation still looks green, officials said that will change as seasonal drying sets in over the next month.
“Our fire danger and fuels people are projecting both a more severe than average and a longer than average fire season,” said Russ Lane of the DNR Wildland Fire Management Division.
A DNR map shows very high or high fire danger across most of Central and Eastern Washington, highlighted in yellow and orange. Western Washington is currently at moderate fire danger, but officials said a three-day heat advisory is expected to worsen conditions on the ground.
“We’re already working from a drought deficit, and then with that normal seasonal curing we see every year, we expect very active fire behavior on the west side,” Lane said.
Officials also pointed to winter conditions that left the state with about half of its usual snowpack after too much precipitation fell as rain instead of snow. In April, the Washington Department of Ecology issued a statewide emergency drought declaration for the fourth consecutive year, citing projected water supplies that will likely fall far short of the state’s summer demand.
Lane said the state may see occasional short-term relief, but the overall trend remains concerning. “We’ll see short-term breaks and weather, cool cloudy weather, maybe even a shower here and there. But really, the long-term trajectory is for additional drying,” he said.
DNR officials said more than 320 firefighters have gone through the Interagency Wildland Fire Academy so far this year, and many will eventually be deployed to fight new wildfires that ignite.