By Jack Heffernan / The Columbian
Gordon Brooks, assistant chief of Clark County Fire District 10, has been monitoring long-term fire forecasts for nearly 31 years. A four-month projection released earlier this month was unlike any other he has seen.
The projection from the National Interagency Fire Center, released April 1, revealed a higher-than-normal potential for large wildland fires in spring and early summer in Western Oregon and Washington. Other than a few scattered areas of the western United States, the rest of the country is either at normal or below-average risk of costly wildfires.
Local fire agencies and the state have been coordinating in preparation for the potentially active, early start to fire season, which typically peaks in August and September.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a great year for the west side (of Washington),” said Janet Pearce, spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources. “It’s going to be a challenge, I’m sure, but we’re prepared.”
Last year, 40 percent of fires in Washington came in the western portion of the state, which is unusually high, Pearce said. In total, there were more than 1,850 blazes in Washington, the most in state history.
This year, a combination of relatively dry conditions and rapid snow melt is concerning to fire officials west of the Cascade Mountains, a region not commonly associated with many wildland fires.
East winds caused many of the fires as property owners used clear weather to burn debris, Pearce said.
“It was just getting out of hand because of that weather anomaly,” Pearce said.
The Portland metro area has seen nearly 3 inches of rain in April, according to the National Weather Service. While that has delayed potential wildfires in recent weeks, the extra rain may also mean more vegetation — and fire fuel.
Most concerning to fire officials are homes in rural areas.
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