Wildfire — Washington Palouse, Washington

2020-09-07 to 2020-09-14 · Washington Palouse, Washington

Event narrative

The Malden Wildfire was ignited by a tree on a powerline and fueled by high winds and dry conditions on September 7th. Eighty percent of the small community of Malden, and nearby town of Pine City, were destroyed by the fire. This included 121 homes, eight businesses, 94 other buildings, and more than 15,000 acres. The cost of fighting the fire was calculated at 800,000 dollars and fully contained by September 14th.

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 922077. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.