Washington wildfire season turns deadly
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images
Washington's wildfire season is off to a deadly start.
State of play: A fast-moving blaze near Lake Chelan underscores the danger state officials have been warning about for months.
Driving the news: The Chelan Hills fire — which investigators say started July 4th near Highway 97 — has killed one person, destroyed homes and forced evacuations.
- Investigators have launched a criminal investigation into the fire, which they say was human-caused.
- A wildfire near Vantage Wednesday also destroyed two homes and prompted local evacuations.
The big picture: State officials have been watching this year's fire season take shape for months.
- The Washington Department of Ecology declared a statewide drought emergency in April for the fourth consecutive year after a warm, dry winter left snowpack well below normal.
- Officials had hoped late spring rain would help, but, "we didn't get the precipitation we needed to mitigate or offset those factors," Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spokesperson Thomas Kyle-Milward told Axios.
- Instead, vegetation dried out earlier than usual, leaving much of Washington primed for fire as temperatures climbed, he said.
Plus: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters are also watching the development of what could become a strong or even "super" El Niño, which could push temperatures to record highs and further prime the landscape for fire.
By the numbers: Washington has recorded 705 wildfires this year that have burned more than 117,000 acres, according to DNR's fire dashboard.
What they're saying: "Given that we are in the second week of July and have already seen multiple large, costly fires, we are anticipating an active and above-average fire season for 2026," said Kyle-Milward.
- He said DNR's preparation hasn't changed — the agency trains firefighters and aviation crews every year — but conditions on the landscape have.
The bottom line: Kyle-Milward said the biggest thing residents can do is avoid creating sparks.
- "People think, 'It's OK if I have a campfire during a burn ban, because I won't be the spark that causes a wildfire,'" he said. "But we have seen that happen every year."