Western Washington finds itself under another red flag warning for wildfire-prone conditions. And there's a good reason for that warning.
On Tuesday, Eastside Fire and Rescue, City of Renton and other agencies responded to a small fire, which they put out quickly. Initial attack is key, and the strategy by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is using aircraft and ground crews to snuff out fires as quickly as possible
The statistics are scary. Washington DNR reports 830 fires so far this season just on land it protects, about 13 million acres. That’s more than a typical fire season, which averages 817 fire starts. Considering we’re just a week into August and September, 2018 is likely to be well above what's normal.
Beyond that, a growing number of fires are happening in the western half of the state: 499 were east of the Cascades, and 331 are west.
So far, success using aircraft to knock out fires quickly is paying off. The state continues to use its eight Huey Helicopters, along with eight single-engine Fire Boss aircraft. So far, more than 90 percent of fires on state land have been kept under 10 acres. That’s expected to become higher as fuels and the forests continue to dry out until the rains of October arrive.
For big fires, larger aircraft are used, including a 747-400 operated by Global SuperTanker, where one is trying to control big fires in California.
