Forecasters with the National Interagency Fire Center are predicting above-average risk of large wildfires through August and likely into September.
While temperatures were cooler than normal in early July, recent temperatures into the triple-digits several times combined with little precipitation caused fuels to continue to dry. “Given the recent fire activity and potential increase in lightning, above normal fire activity is likely to occur in August and continue into September before the expected wetter than normal conditions,” fire center officials stated. “The number of fires and acreage burned remained well below average for the geographic area for the first three weeks of July. In the last week of July, lightning and rising fire danger led to increased ignitions and several large fires requiring incident management teams mainly in central Washington and central Oregon.”