Be Careful Yakima Majority of Fires Are Started by Humans

If you'd like to enjoy the remainder of the summer smoke free Yakima Fire Department Firefighters say than be careful with anything that could start a fire. They say that because if a fire does start it'll likely be caused by a human. 80 percent of all fires in the state are started by people.

Welcome to the 2022 fire season in Washington State

This is the week the Washington State Fire season is expected to get underway and kick into high gear with soaring temperatures. Gusty winds and low humidity coupled with hot temperatures mean the area and central Washington is primed for a big wildfire. If a fire does start in these hot dry temperatures firefighters say it'll be tough to control and extinguish.

Last year was a smokey challenge for local and state firefighters

Officials from the Washington Department of Natural Resources are hoping for a mild fire season that won't be an intense as last year. In the 2021 fire season state officials say a total of total 674,249 acres burned with 88 percent of the fires were human caused, 12 percent was caused by lightning. 44 of the fires met the large fire criteria- described as fires larger than 1,000 acres in the western United States burning a total of 107,118 acres. The largest fire last year was the Schneider Springs Fire near Naches in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Firefighters are hoping to avoid such a large local fire this year. There's some hope that the state could be saved this year because of high mountain rainfall and the state's melting snowpack.

Firefighters in the valley have their own unique challenge

But firefighters in eastern and central Washington say all the rain in the spring helped grow vegetation that is now dry and ready for fire.
Local and state officials are urging everyone to do everything they can to prevent a fire in the valley or in the state forest.