Pacific Northwest Wildfire Season Off until early start

On the weekend, the local fire brigades responded to several small grass and wood fires.

The forest fire season starts early in the northwest of the country. On the weekend, the local fire brigades responded to several small grass and wood fires.

Spokane County Fire District 8 Tweeted Video Sunday night of flames lashed by high winds.

Firefighters hope this isn’t a precursor for the rest of the season.

Usually the rural northwest inland is grassed at this time of year, but due to the dry late winter and early spring, many areas are still brown.

Records at Spokane’s National Weather Service Station showed that we had 4.02 inches of rainfall since January 1st. The normal amount would be 5.54 inches. That situation is already leading to more fires this time of year, says Mike Bucy, chief of Stevens County’s Fire District One.

“Just for example, April, which is a slow month for us, we made an average of 6 calls a day. We had nine structure fires, but 43 brush fires. “

In a normal April, that number would be closer to 10 forest fires. Due to the arid conditions, the Department of Natural Resources has implemented fire restrictions on certain areas in Stevens, Pend Oreille and Spokane counties.

Anyone planning to burn garden or garden waste must obtain a permit if the fire exceeds 10 by 10 feet in size. Bucy has advice for anyone planning to do so

Burn debris in rural areas where it is allowed.

“I can tell you at this point that the general rule is: just don’t burn. Right now it’s just a good idea not to burn at all as there is no rainfall in the entire region. “

According to Bucy, almost all brush fire calls that month were caused by burning debris fires that got out of hand. Two were caused by people shooting guns.