Pacific Northwest Wildfires Explode in Size

In the 3 days since my last blog, wildfires in the Pacific Northwest have exploded in size. This blog will take a look at the 3 biggest fires in the PNW right now. As of 7 PM Sunday, these are the stats:

1. Bootleg Fire: 150,800 acres, 0% contained (Klamath County, OR)

The Bootleg Fire is approximately the size of Chicago (~235 sq. mi.).

2. Snake River Complex: 54,400 acres, 0% contained (Nez Perce County, ID)

The Snake River Complex is approximately twice the size of San Francisco (~46 sq. mi x2).

3. Dry Gulch Fire: 46,350 acres, 20% contained (Asotin & Garfield Counties, WA)

The Dry Gulch Fire is approximately the size of Spokane (~70 sq. mi.).

A large pyrocumulonimbus cloud grows from the Bootleg Fire in South Central Oregon. Image found here.

Let's start with location. Below is the location of the Bootleg Fire from Google Maps.

The fire is 35 mi. NE of Klamath Falls and 85 mi. NE of Medford. The stunning aspect of this fire is the incredible growth in the past 24 hours ending Sunday evening. The fire has grown nearly 74,800 acres in 24 hours. That is similar to the area of Salt Lake City...burned in one day.

The incident commander said in a Saturday news release that, "The fire behavior we are seeing on the Bootleg Fire is among the most extreme you can find and firefighters are seeing conditions they have never seen before."

The smoke plume has been massive, creating pyrocumulonimbus clouds. The satellite image below shows the plume on Saturday evening.

Image found here.

The plume stretched all the way to Idaho...across half of the state of Oregon, over 200 miles.

Now to the Snake River Complex, on the Washington/Oregon-Idaho border. Its location is below.

This fire is comprised of the Shovel Creek and Hoover Ridge fires, burning a total of 54,400 acres in west central Idaho. It is likely 0% contained. The image below shows the fire burning along the Snake River.

Image found here.

The next fire is just 25 miles NW of the Snake River Complex. The location of the Dry Gulch Fire and Silcott Fire (now contained) is below.

As of Sunday evening, the fire was reported to have burned 46,350 acres and is 20% contained, progress from recent days containment-wise. The fire is reported to be started by a lightning strike. A photo of the fire burning over rolling hills of vulnerable grasses is below.

Image found here.

Weather conditions at all three fires will continue to fuel fire growth over the next few days, making it hard for fire crews to gain ground on these massive fires.

Additionally, a new fire called the Burbank Creek Fire is burning just off I-82 north of Yakima. The approximate location of the fire is below.

The fire started on Saturday, and as of Sunday evening it is reported to have burned approximately 7,000 acres and be 50% contained. This is significant considering it started roughly 24 hours ago. Below are 2 photos of the burned area taken by Gunner Hicks from I-82 Westbound on Sunday afternoon.

One of the most striking things about these fires burning across the Pacific Northwest is the fact that it is still early July, quite early for major wildfires. Additionally, there are 300 fires actively burning in British Columbia. 

The good news is that for now, Western Washington will NOT have to deal with wildfire smoke due to predominantly easterly winds (the situation is not as nice for our friends in Eastern WA/OR, ID, and parts of MT). Updates on the smoke situation will be provided if necessary.

A dangerous and likely destructive wildfire season is off to an early start, and large fires will likely continue to burn across the West through the fall.

Stay tuned.