Washington's wildfire season kicks off significantly early | FOX 13 Seattle

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]The state's first wildfire is now under control after burning more than 100 acres in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The Libby Creek fire is now 100% contained according to the US Forest Service. The fire started about 6 miles outside of Twisp on Thursday and Libby Creek is the first wildland fire of the 2026 wildfire season, marking an early start. Investigators with the Forest Service say the fire was likely caused by people. And we are joined tonight by Washington Department of Natural Resources Wildfire Division Manager Russ Lane. Russ, thank you for being here.

[00:00:36]Good journey tonight.

[00:00:37]>> [snorts] >> So, wildfire season is officially underway. Though crews were able to contain the Libby Creek fire fairly quickly, how is DNR preparing for what could be a long season?

[00:00:50]Well, certainly we're we're beginning by monitoring the conditions. So, a lot of those indicators of a tough fire season are beginning to line up. Normally, we would tell you we need to wait to see what what the spring weather bears out.

[00:01:04]But certainly coming off 4 years of continuous drought, low snowpack, and and a really dry May so far, like I said, all those indicators are beginning to line up. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise is projecting, you know, above normal significant fire potential for the month of July on the east side and then it's pretty warm last across the entire state in in the month of May.

[00:01:30]But we're really ramping up our activities as we normally would. We always prepare for a severe fire season.

[00:01:36]Now is is the time when we're training crews.

[00:01:40]Aviators, the aviation crews are going through exercises and you know, we put them to the test this week fighting the Libby Creek fire along with the US Forest Service. Well, as you just mentioned, the state is experiencing a diminished level of snowpack in the Cascades and across the Olympics. So, how concerned are you that it will impact the wildfire risk in the weeks and even months ahead?

[00:02:04]Uh we're we're very concerned. As I said, we normally prepare uh for the worst. However, you know, the conditions are are indicating we'll experience that or or have a high likelihood of that.

[00:02:17]Uh May is National Wildfire Awareness Month.

[00:02:20]Uh so, one of the the best ways we can uh up our preparedness is uh engaging the public along with us to prevent fires, uh preparing their homes for wildfire, thinking about defensible space.

[00:02:35]And as we proceed towards the Memorial Day holiday weekend, to think about how to recreate safely out in our wildlands.

[00:02:44]Well, on that note, you guys have a little help now with AI and drone technology. There are just more tools available that agencies didn't have even a few years ago. So, can you talk about that use and how it may be helping and what's different?

[00:02:58]Uh certainly, technology is uh a huge asset to us uh more and more as we go on. So, you know, DNR uh has about 40 drone platforms that we put out in the field with our crews.

[00:03:14]Uh our firefighters are able to uh get better intelligence that way. We have a statewide network of AI cameras uh to provide early detection for wildland fires.

[00:03:27]And uh just many more technology tools available to better predict the weather, project fire behavior, uh and and get a sense of the conditions we are facing and will be facing. Well, Russ, briefly, we know a lot of these fires are usually human-caused. What are we missing here? What can we do better as people out and about hiking and camping? What are maybe some things that aren't as obvious that you really want to point out for people to remember so we do our part to make sure not to cause a catastrophic fire.

[00:03:58]Well, really our our largest causes of human caused incidents are our backyard debris burnings. So the number one thing we would like people to do is is just really use care when they're using fire as a tool. Uh consult their local fire professionals either in their local fire district or Department of Natural Resources.

[00:04:19]Uh another leading cause of fire is equipment. So anything that can create a spark out in the wildlands uh that might be a generator, a vehicle, uh equipment is our second leading cause of fire. And then as we proceed into the summer often, you know, fireworks are a part of celebrations like the 4th of July.

[00:04:38]And really fireworks should only be used far away from flammable wildland vegetation. That's always a good reminder. Well, Russ Lane is the Wildfire Division Manager with Washington's Department of Natural Resources. So Russ, we want to thank you for joining us for Washington News Wrap tonight and we wish you and your staff all the best as we head into the busy time of year for DNR.

[00:04:59]Thank you.