Wildfires burning September 3, 2017 (satellite image). Visible in the Cascades, north to south: Diamond Creek Fire, Jolly Mountain Fire, Norse Peak Fire
Date(s)
May–October 2017 Statewide state of emergency: September 2, 2017[1]
The 2017 Washington wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned over the course of 2017, a year that set weather records for heat and aridity in both Western Washington and Eastern Washington.
Timeline of events
Fire season officially began on April 15.[2] Training of state fire crews was conducted in May, as well as training of Washington National Guard in helitack insertion for fire crews.[3]
On the morning of August 1, smoke from BC fires pushed into the Seattle area, rapidly making Mount Rainier invisible on a cloudless day.[4] In early August, heavy smoke from British Columbia over Seattle earned the social media title "Smokezilla".[5] Mid-month, several large fires in the state's Cascades Range were ignited by lightning.[6]
On August 8, the city of Seattle recorded 52 straight days without rain, a new record.[7] The first measurable rainfall at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) was 0.02 inches in mid-August, setting a record 55 day dry streak.[8]
On September 2, the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, declared a state of emergency across all Washington counties due to wildfires.[1][9]
Peak Air Quality Index values for Oregon and Washington on September 6, 2017. Air quality is hazardous in parts of Washington and Oregon, "very unhealthy" in Spokane, and at least "unhealthy" across most of the area.
On September 5, ash from the Central Washington fires fell "like snow" on Seattle and as far west as Grays Harbor County which borders the Pacific Ocean.[10][11][12] University of Washington meteorology professor Cliff Mass said the situation in Seattle with "a smoke cloud so dense one would think it is low stratus deck" was unprecedented in his 30 years of experience.[13] The Air Quality Index reached "hazardous" in Spokane, the worst of six levels; it had reached hazardous the day before in Newport, Washington, the worst in the country.[14]
On September 5, Cle Elum-Roslyn School District announced the start of the school year would be postponed, and on the 6th, all classes and events in Ellensburg School District were canceled until September 11, due to unhealthy indoor air quality.[15][16]
The first significant rain wasn't until after mid September.[17] By the end of the summer, the official weather station at Sea-Tac, representing Western Washington's conditions, had recorded the hottest, driest summer since recordkeeping began with just over 0.5 inches (13 mm) of rain.[18] Eastern Washington also had a very dry year with Spokane setting a new record of 80 days without measurable rain.[19] A climate scientist at University of Idaho said that the extremes caused greater fire activity and were due to climate change, but not necessarily linked to human causes.[20]
List of fires
Wildfire warning published online by National Weather Service for Washington State over Labor Day weekend 2017
On September 5, the U.S. Army said 200 Washington-based soldiers were to be trained and sent to the Umpqua North Complex fires in Oregon's Umpqua National Forest.[34][35]
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