2022 Washington wildfires

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
2022 Washington wildfires
File:Hi-Res satellite imagery across Western Washington in mid-October.jpg
High-Resolution satellite imagery across Western Washington in mid-October.
Statistics
Date(s) March 2022–December 2022
Fatalities 0

The 2022 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2022. As of August 4, 2022, there have been four large wildfires that have burned 30,800 acres (12,500 ha) across the US state of Washington. This season started quieter than normal due to unusually colder weather that kept Eastern and Southeastern Washington burning index's largely below normal into July.[1] As of October 2022, a total of 140,000 acres (57,000 ha) of land in the state was burned – the fewest number of acres burned since 2012.[2]

Season narrative

Monsoon-driven thunderstorm activity started several wildfires in August.[3][4] One of these located south of Lind in Adams County was ignited on the morning of August 4 and grew to more than 2,000 acres (810 ha). It resulted in 10 homes burned and the evacuation of the town.[5]

Smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire in central Oregon moved into Southwest Washington then the Puget Sound region on September 10;[6] on that day Seattle recorded the worst air quality of any major city in the world.[7]

The Bolt Creek Fire, a human-caused[8] wildfire on the western slopes of the Cascades September 10–11,[6] caused the closure of U.S. Highway 2 for over a week in September, and the evacuation of Skykomish, Washington.[9][10] By early October the fire was 36 percent contained and continuing to spread northwards into the Wild Sky Wilderness, causing poor air quality in western Washington.[11][12] Highway 2 was closed again on October 5 and 9–10 to remove burned trees threatening road safety, and intermittent closures were expected to continue later in October.[13][14][15]

On the weekend of October 15–16, easterly winds over the Cascades brought dry, subsiding air and record temperatures to the Puget Sound area. The weather conditions contributed to the initiation and expansion of fires on the west slopes of the Cascades,[16] and the worst air quality of the season so far occurred in Seattle that weekend.[17] Fires included the Nakia Creek Fire in Southwest Washington and one on private timberland near Loch Katrine in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness 30 miles east of Seattle.[18][19] Flames from the Loch Katrine fire could be seen from Seattle.[20]

On October 18 and 19, due to wildfire smoke, Seattle had the worst air quality of any major city in the world.[21]

List of wildfires

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable. It may not be complete or reflect the most recent information. Costs are in 2022 USD.[22]

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref
Goat Rocks 3,600+ August 8, 2022 Caused by lightning; $19.4 million to suppress [23][24]
White River 14,442[25] August 11, 2022 Caused by lightning; $19.3 million to suppress [26]
Bolt Creek King, Snohomish 14,820 September 10, 2022 Human-caused; $15 million to suppress [27]
Minnow Ridge Chelan 5,350 September 10, 2022 Unknown cause; The National Centers for Environmental Information reported it caused $115 million (2023 USD) in property damage. [28][29]
Nakia Creek Clark 1,918 October 9, 2022 Human-caused; $6.8 million to suppress

Further reading

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=2022_Washington_wildfires&oldid=727101945"