Fire Season In Central Washington Is Not Likely Over Yet

With the recent rain today, many of you are probably anxiously asking, “Is fire season over for the Yakima Valley?”

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Why Does Yakima Have Perfect Fire Weather?

In another article, we talked about the causes of the recent “explosion” in numbers of Yakima fires over the last decade. However, even without those reasons, Yakima’s location provides for ideal fire conditions.

Because Yakima sits on the eastern slope of the Cascades, moist Pacific air masses drop rain on the western slopes, bringing very little precipitation to the Inland Northwest during the summer. High temperatures average in the 80s and often reach the 90s and even 100s over the summer, which rapidly dries out vegetation.

Dense brush and invasive cheatgrasses, which die in the summer months, literally ask for massive fires. Summer winds also have a major impact on making small events extreme conflagrations.

a close up of a bunch of dry grass

Are We Done?

Now that we are going into September, weather is cooling off. The Yakima Air Terminal received around 0.05 inches of rain Tuesday, and people are wondering if we are off the hook for the rest of the year.

Well, probably not. This “rain” event is only a small blip of what later comes to Washington State. Weather patterns show no more rain in the weeks to come, and highs will be climbing from the low 70s this weekend to the upper 70s and even low 80s next week! September is a warm and dry month in Washington State, and this month seems to be no outlier. Warm, sunny days mean any light amount of rain that does fall is quickly evaporated.

What Ends Fire Season in Central WA?

The end of fire season in Central WA occurs due to a mix of things. Evaporation sucks moisture out of growth, so a large precipitation event of about 0.50 inches followed by cooler temperatures and a low mid-autumn sun angle are needed to keep things from drying out.

The high-pressure ridges that keep Yakima warm and dry usually begin slowly phasing out between late September and late October and are replaced with cool, wet, humid weather.

READ MORE: ARE MICROPLASTICS HIDING IN YOUR DIET IN WA, WITHOUT YOU KNOWING?

So Yakima, we just have a few more weeks to go!