Summer wildfire update from Lands Commissioner

Lake Spokane fire
Photo courtesy South County Fire

By Dave Upthegrove

Commissioner of Public Lands

Wildfire season is upon us, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) – along with our local and federal partners – is working hard to protect our state. So far this year, more than 1,000 ignitions have sparked – burning more than 50,000 acres in Washington.

Currently, there are five large fires burning in Washington – the Lake Spokane, Hope, Pomas, Bear Gulch, and Burdoin fires – and our agency crews are working alongside our federal and local partners to contain these fires quickly and safely. For more information on these fires, click here to access DNR’s fire dashboard.

Last week, I traveled to White Salmon to visit the incident management team working on the Burdoin Fire burning along the Columbia River Gorge. I was briefed about efforts to contain the fire, given a tour of the incident command post, and visited with firefighters and support staff. I was proud to host Governor Ferguson on site and took the opportunity to highlight the importance of our forest health and wildfire resilience work, and the urgent need to restore full funding for this critical work.

As we head into August, I want to remind everyone to be smart and safe as this hot, dry summer weather continues. It’s up to all of us to keep our state safe from wildfires.