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State: historic fire season — 17 major fires, nearly 500,000 acres burned so far
Summary
State Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove called the current season "historic," saying 17 major fires burn across Washington, covering about 262,000 acres currently and placing this summer near 500,000 acres burned statewide. He credited investments in fuels reduction and the large firefighting mobilization.
Dave Upthegrove, Washington's elected commissioner of public lands, described the scale of the statewide fire season and highlighted the resources and personnel working incidents across the state. "Today, there are 17 major fires burning in Washington state, covering 262,000 acres currently on fire," he said, adding that the state was approaching 500,000 acres burned this summer.
Upthegrove said about 5,000 people were working fires statewide and praised mutual-aid agreements and pre-positioned equipment. He noted the state's investments in forest-health work such as fuels reduction, prescribed burns and creation of fire breaks that are intended to protect high-value assets and can slow fire spread in treated areas.
