Red flag warning for central Cascades; smoke returns Western WA

The western slopes of the central Cascade Mountains in Washington state will be under a red flag warning through 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25.

In addition to the dry conditions, low humidity levels, and gusty winds, there is also a chance for thunderstorms throughout the region, especially on Friday morning. All of these factors are raising the fire danger in the mountains, generally above 1,500 feet. Any fires that start are likely to spread quickly.

The central Cascades roughly stretches from outside the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area down to the Oregon border.

State officials issued a wildfire warning Thursday morning, largely for people living in areas of highest risk. Issaquah is one such community. That's where Eastside Fire and Rescue has been teaching neighbors how to prevent and survive these fires.

"What our program does is look at all of those points of vulnerability," said Cat Robinson, who works on wildfire mitigation for Eastside Fire and Rescue. "Could you remove that landscape bark and put in gravel instead? That helps encourage people to make those changes, and it helps them pay for it."

Robinson said her agency has been helping people who live near forested land fireproof their yards in advance of potential fires. Such wildfires have become more common in Western Washington due to hotter and drier summers, and decades worth of fuel on the ground.

Since conditions can change in seconds, Robinson says: Don't wait, evacuate, if you see a fire approaching your neighborhood.

Air quality

Washington's Department of Ecology says air quality is looking good throughout Western Washington as of Thursday morning. However, smoke from the Sourdough fire in the North Cascades, and from others burning in British Columbia, is expected to cause air quality to dip by late Thursday, and into the weekend.

Air quality is not expected to be as bad as last weekend, however, when Seattle briefly had the worst air in the world.

In the meantime, the air quality is looking good to moderate east of the Cascades where the Gray and the Oregon Road Fires continue to burn near Spokane. The 10,000-acre Gray Fire is now 58% contained, and the 11,000-acre Oregon Road Fire is about 4% contained. These two fires combined have destroyed more than 250 homes and buildings in less than a week.