Wildfire — Okanogan Highlands, Washington

2020-09-07 to 2020-09-27 · Okanogan Highlands, Washington

Event narrative

The Inchelium Complex Wildfires, 1 mile north of Inchelium, was ignited by human causes on September 7th. The Inchelium Complex was comprised by three fires on the Colville Indian Reservation: Inchelium Highway, Fry, and Kewa Field. The wildfires grew to 19,399 acres of timber and brush. They were driven largely by strong winds and dry conditions before contained by the end of September. The cost of fighting the fires was calculated at 8.1 million dollars.

Wider weather episode

Very dry and critical fire conditions over Eastern Washington during July and August produced dry fuels across the region. These fuels, with an incoming cold front's strong winds, created an outbreak of wildfires, blowing smoke, and dust late September 6th - 7th. These conditions ignited over 20 wildfires which destroyed hundreds of thousand acres of land, crops, and homes. 80 percent of the small town of Malden, and nearby Pine City, burned during a fast moving wildfire. There were over 500 miles of Interstate 90, state highways, and roads closed due to fires, low visibility from smoke and dust, and blocked from downed trees. One fatality and two severe injuries occurred when trying to escape one of the wildfires.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 920825. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.