2023 Washington wildfires

The 2023 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2023 in the US state of Washington.

2023 Washington wildfires
The Sourdough Fire on August 4
Statistics
Total fires1,515
Total area145,220 acres (58,770 hectares)
Date(s)March 2023–present
Deaths2
Season
← 2022
2024 →

Conditions going into the season were low-risk for fire, with higher than average precipitation over the prior winter and spring.[1] Some experts anticipate a later peak, possibly into November, for the Pacific Northwest due to El Niño effects.[2]

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources planned to ignite controlled burns on over 2,100 acres (8 km2) to prevent larger fires from developing during the season.[3]

The Northwest Coordination Center upgraded the region's preparedness level (referring to the availability of firefighting resources) from PL 1 to PL 2 on July 3, PL 3 on July 23, PL 4 on August 12, and PL5—the highest level—on August 19.[4]

As of August 22, 2023, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources dashboard reported that 1,515 fires have burned a total of 146,220 acres (59,170 hectares) in Washington during the year to date.[5]

Fires

The 10th Street fire at East Wenatchee resulted in level 1 evacuations on May 27 and burned 250 acres (100 ha) of grass and sagebrush.[6]

The Old Naches Highway fire incident was reported on June 7. It had burned almost 645 acres by June 8.[7]

The 10,000 acre Hat Rock Fire in Oregon crossed into Walla Walla County on June 13, where it burned more than 1,000 acres before being contained.[8]

Three fires in grass and sagebrush in Benton County burned 7,000 acres by June 16.[9]

A wildfire under 100 acres (40 ha) near Lake Sutherland outside Olympic National Park was visible on June 18 from Victoria, British Columbia on the other side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.[10]

The Oasis Fire near Touchet grew to over 1,500 acres (610 ha) by June 19, bringing evacuation orders by Walla Walla County emergency managers. State firefighting resources including tanker aircraft were mobilized to fight it.[11]

The Tunnel Five Fire started near Underwood in Skamania County on July 2. It burned 529 acres (214 ha) and was 80% contained by July 10.[12]

The McEwan Fire started near Mason Lake, in Western Washington 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Seattle on July 2. As of July 5, 2023, it had caused evacuations of hundreds of homes, had burned over 250 acres (100 ha), and was uncontained.[13]

The Eagle Bluff Fire near Oroville in Okanogan County reached 10,000 acres by July 30, with 15 aircraft were fighting it.[14] The fire crossed into Canada on July 30–31 and Level 3 evacuations (leave now) were downgraded to level 1 and 2 evacuations.[15] The fire approached to kilometers of Osoyoos, British Columbia on July 31, and the entire town of Osoyoos was on evacuation alert.[16][17]

The North Cascades Highway was closed for several days due to the Sourdough Fire. Trailheads, trails, and camping in North Cascades National Park remained closed after the road reopened on August 9.[18] The highway was closed again due to the fire's growth as well as the formation of the Blue Lake Fire.[19] Smoke from this fire and other fires in inland Washington and British Columbia was pushed towards Western Washington and rapid convective mixing caused unhealthy air quality in Seattle on August 20–21.[20][21]

The Gray Fire was ignited on August 18 near Medical Lake in Spokane County and grew to over 9,500 acres (3,800 ha) within a day. It prompted the evacuation of Medical Lake and parts of Cheney and shut down portions of Interstate 90 and State Route 902.[22] One death was determined to be from the Gray Fire while another was caused by the nearby Oregon Road Fire.[23]

The Oregon Fire began on the same day as the Gray Fire, August 18. Driven by hot, dry, gusty winds the fire grew rapidly. 126 homes were lost and one person was killed.[24]

List

The following is a list of Washington wildfires in 2023 that have burned more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), have resulted in casualties or significant damage to structures, or have otherwise been notable. Acreage and containment figures may not be up to date.

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Refs
Tunnel Five Skamania529 July 2 July 2023 Destroyed ten homes. [25]
Airplane Lake Chelan6,956 July 7
0% contained
 [26]
Newell Road Klickitat60,551 July 21 July 29 Cause under investigation [27]
Eagle Bluff Okanogan10,245 July 29
62% contained
 [28]
Sourdough Whatcom6,369 July 29
25% contained
 [29]
Gray Spokane10,085 August 18
September 1		 265 structures destroyed; one death reported[30] [31]
Oregon Spokane10,817 August 18
97% contained
 384 structures destroyed (126 homes); one death reported[24] [32]
Olympic National Park Lightning Fires Jefferson4,795 September 1 October 18 [33]
Blue Lake Chelan1,074 September 1
80% contained
 [34]

References
  1. "National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. May 1, 2023. Geographic Area Forecast – Northwest (p. 6). Due to the predominantly cool and wet conditions, wildfire activity was limited ... Fuels remain too moist to support elevated risk of significant fires and are historically likely to remain so until June...Normal (i.e., very low) risk of significant fires is expected over the Northwest Geographic Area until July and August...
  2. "Fire season begins in Washington State, experts predict a late wildfire season". Katu. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  3. Breda, Isabella (March 28, 2023). "WA to burn thousands of acres of forest ahead of fire season". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023.
  4. Northwest Preparedness Levels (PDF) (Report). Northwest Coordination Center. 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  5. "DNR Wildfire Intel Dashboard". experience.arcgis.com. Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  6. Vincent Saglimbeni (May 28, 2023). "Level 1 Evacuations lifted for fire burning in East Wenatchee near 10th Street". Spokane: KXLY (AM).
  7. Donald W. Meyers; Joanna Markell (June 8, 2023). "Old Naches Highway fire at 75% containment, control expected by Saturday". Yakima Herald-Republic.
  8. LeCompte, Michael (July 19, 2023) [June 13, 2023]. "Update: Umatilla County fires 100% contained". Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  9. Cameron Probert (June 16, 2023). "Three fires burned 7,000 acres in Benton County. What is happening now?". Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington – via Yahoo! News.
  10. Darron Kloster (June 19, 2023). "Wildfire near Port Angeles grows, more crews and equipment deployed; Smoke visible from Victoria shoreline, including Beacon Hill Park". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia.
  11. "Oasis Fire prompts evacuation orders, state mobilization in Walla Walla County". KOMO News. June 19, 2023 – via Yahoo! News.
  12. Libby, Amy (July 10, 2023). "Tunnel Five Fire 80% contained; Highway 14 remains closed in the Gorge". The Columbian. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  13. "Evacuations downgraded but could take weeks to quell McEwan Fire in Mason County". KIRO-TV News. July 5, 2023.
  14. "15 aircraft working to put out Okanogan County fire as its spreads to Canada". Seattle: KIRO-TV. July 30, 2023.
  15. Gary DeVon (July 31, 2023). "Eagle Bluff fire near Oroville estimated at 10,000 acres, jumps border". Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune. Oroville, Washington.
  16. "Crews watching wind as fire continues threatening Osoyoos, B.C." CBC. July 31, 2023 – via MSN.
  17. "Osoyoos wildfire: Winds play key role as raging fire remains a threat". Vancouver, British Columbia: The Canadian Press. July 31, 2023 – via Vancouver Sun.
  18. "North Cascades Highway reopens after closing due to 1,700-acre Sourdough Fire". KOMO-TV. August 9, 2023.
  19. Brooks, Lisa (August 17, 2023). "Fire closure of North Cascades Highway is hurting local businesses". MyNorthwest.com. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  20. Elise Takahama (August 21, 2023). "Seattle air quality among worst in world due to wildfire smoke". The Seattle Times.
  21. Cliff Mass (August 20, 2023). "Smoke Increased Rapidly this Afternoon But Soon Will Be History: Call it a "smoke storm" perhaps, but the well-forecast onslaught of mainly British Columbia wildfire smoke came in with a vengeance". Cliff Mass Weather Blog.
  22. "Medical Lake wildfire has burned 185 structures and 9,500 acres. It is 10% contained". The Spokesman-Review. August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  23. "One Dead, Dozens of Buildings Destroyed in Washington State Wildfire". August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  24. "Latest Details | Gray Fire and Oregon Road Fire". krem.com. August 21, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  25. "Tunnel Five Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  26. "2023 Airplane Lake OWF". InciWeb. August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  27. "Newell Road Fire – Incident Information". InciWeb – Incident Information System. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  28. "Eagle Bluff Fire". InciWeb – Incident Information System. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  29. "Sourdough Fire Update – August 20, 2023". InciWeb. August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  30. Charles, Sydney A. (August 23, 2023). "Firewatch: Gray Fire burning in Medical Lake now 48% contained". kxly.com. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  31. "Gray Fire". InciWeb. August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  32. "Oregon Fire". InciWeb. September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  33. "2023 Olympic National Park Lightning Fires". InciWeb. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  34. "Blue Lake Fire". InciWeb. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.

Further reading
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