Wildfire — Okanogan Valley, Washington

2021-09-01 to 2021-09-30 · Okanogan Valley, Washington

Event narrative

On the night of August 3rd, passing thunderstorms resulted in several new fire starts on the Colville Indian Reservation, which included the Hamilton and Whitmore Fires, northwest of Nespelem. Gusty, erratic winds effected fire behavior and lead to numerous evacuations of residences and animals. All evacuations were lifted by August 18th, but due to the dry fuels and red flag conditions, the smoldering continued into September. There are no reports of injuries or fatalities. The pair of wildfires burned a total 57,860 acres before fully contained by September 30th. The cost of the firefighting resources required to contain the fires was calculated at $9,320,000.

Wider weather episode

The active 2021 wildfire season continued with nine destructive fires burning almost 100,000 acres, contained by the end of September. They were fueled by many days with windy conditions and low relative humidity. Cooler temperatures, with more moisture and wetting rains, helped with containment.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 988184. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.