WENATCHEE – The record-high temperatures baking Washington this week have forced land managers to impose burn bans to lessen the wildfire danger.
High-temperature records were set Wednesday at Stampede Pass in the Cascade Mountains, in Olympia and in Seattle, which broke the July 11, 1951, record of 95 degrees when the thermometer hit 98 in the early evening. Bellingham and Quillayute matched record highs Wednesday.
Temperatures should cool off some west of the Cascades, but stifling heat is expected to continue in Eastern Washington, where temperatures ranging from 99 to 107 degrees are forecast for today and Friday.
The extreme heat already has state lands officials and fire marshals across the state imposing burn restrictions.
Beginning today, campfires will be allowed only in developed or designated campgrounds in north-central Washington’s Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests.
In King, Kitsap, Mason and Pierce counties, fire marshals are restricting forest and yard debris burning and land burning, effective July 13.
Washington’s current high temperatures and dry conditions are a recipe for a catastrophic wildfire, said state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland.
West of Yakima, the Naches Ranger District of the Wenatchee National Forest is requiring woodcutters and timber harvest operations to shut down chain saws and other equipment early each afternoon to reduce the risk of sparking a fire.
The district hasn’t yet imposed any burn restrictions, but they may come soon, said Ranger Randy Shepard.
“Keep your eyes open for restrictions that may be implemented. We’re not far from that point,” Shepard said. “As long as fires are allowed, keep them small. Clear any vegetation away from the fire ring, and before leaving, make sure the fire is out.
“Drown it, stir it and drown it again. Then feel it.”
On the wildfire lines, the Easy Street fire was completely contained Wednesday. The fire has scorched eight square miles, or 5,209 acres, about three miles northwest of Wenatchee since being sparked by fireworks Saturday.
The Palisades fire east of Wenatchee was completely contained, having burned nearly five square miles of range land, wheat fields and sagebrush. The cause of the fire was noted as suspicious and remained under investigation.
To the north in Okanogan County, the Little Chopaka Fire has burned more than six square miles about 10 miles northwest of Loomis, near the Canadian border. Firefighters were mostly doing mop-up Wednesday on the blaze that burned in scattered timber, sagebrush and range land in steep, rocky terrain.
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