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Search resuls for: "Washington State Department of Natural Resources"


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Thick smoke blanketed much of the Pacific Northwest on Monday as numerous wildfires in Canada, Washington and Oregon continued to burn, killing at least one person, destroying scores of buildings and threatening dozens more. At least six large fires were burning in Washington State, including the Gray Fire, which was discovered around noon on Friday and was only 10 percent contained as of Monday morning, and the Oregon Road fire, which had burned more than 10,000 acres and was also only 10 percent contained, according to a state fire tracking agency. In Oregon, another four large fires were burning, three of which were just outside of Eugene. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources said at least one person had died in the Gray fire and another death in connection with the Oregon Road fire was under investigation, but that the cause had not been determined. At least 265 structures were destroyed by the Gray and Oregon Road fires.
Persons: Gray Organizations: Oregon, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Gray and Oregon Locations: Pacific, Canada, Washington and Oregon, Washington State, Oregon, Eugene
A growing wildfire has prompted evacuations in two eastern Washington State communities as helicopter crews raced to rescue residents “trapped by the fires,” which had rapidly burned more than 3,000 acres in a few hours on Friday, the authorities said. The wildfire, which began around noon and has been named the Gray Fire, caused evacuations in the communities of Medical Lake and Four Lakes, which together have over 5,000 residents. Mayor Terri Cooper of Medical Lake warned residents on Facebook on Friday afternoon that they needed to “get out now” and that transportation to shelters was available. Joe Smillie, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said by phone on Friday that several structures had been destroyed in Medical Lake by the wildfire, which remained zero percent contained on Friday night and was being pushed by wind gusts of around 35 miles per hour.
Persons: Terri Cooper, Joe Smillie Organizations: Facebook, Washington State Department of Natural Resources Locations: Washington State, Medical, Four, Medical Lake
April 27 (Reuters) - As wildfire season approaches, U.S. officials along the West Coast are working hard to mitigate risks with prescribed burns, while a widespread educational campaign is underway to create buffers around fire-prone homes. In Washington state, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Hillary Franz is working on reversing negative perceptions surrounding prescribed fires. The test fires were lit ahead of a full prescribed burn. "It's a frustrating emotional roller coaster," said Stenbeck, standing on top of Bogg's Pit, the DNR-owned land that has been the focus of a prescribed burn since late last year. "It's important that people make sure there is space between their vegetated fuel and their homes ... once we have a wildfire, embers move quickly.
“We’re seeing forms of stress in all of our species of trees,” said Christine Buhl, a forest entomologist with the Oregon Department of Forestry. Trained observers peer outside both sides of the plane, looking for noticeable damage to trees. “You definitely have to have a stomach of steel.”This year, the aerial observation program flew over about 69 million acres of Washington and Oregon forest in about 246 hours. Oregon’s average temperatures have risen about 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1895, according to a 2021 state climate assessment delivered to the state’s Legislature. “It was the combination of the high temperatures in the afternoon with the sun boring down,” said Chris Still, a professor in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University.
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