'Significant' Wildfire Season Seen For Western Washington

SEATTLE, WA — Enjoy the clear air during this weekend's warm, sunny weather. Wildfire season is coming.

The National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise this week released a forecast for the 2019 summer wildfire season, and it highlights that Western Washington will see "above-normal" wildfire activity in June, July, and August.

One key factor in our wildfire season: snowpack melt. A faster melt will mean that timber will dry quicker, creating fuel for forest fires. Snowpack levels in the central Cascades are well below normal, about 55 percent of normal between Mt. Rainier and North Cascades National Park, according to the USDA. On top of that, the National Weather Service is predicting a warmer-than-usual spring.

"The Pacific Northwest has entered a period of moderate drought. An early entry is possible across the Cascades and in the Okanogan. Elsewhere, some high elevations across the Great Basin and central Rockies could experience Below Normal potential and conditions," the National Interagency Coordination Center said in its May 1 forecast.

May is wildfire awareness month in Washington, and public lands commissioner Hilary Franz is urging residents to be wary of wildfire triggers, like stray twigs, leaves, or grass left to bake in the sun. There have already been 170 wildfires in the state so far this year, half of those on the western side of the Cascades.