While much attention has been focused on the woeful state of the mountain snowpack from the winter season in Washington, these recent dry days have started to dry out, or “cure”, grasses and other fine fuels in lowland locations.
A one-acre fire (pictured) started Thursday afternoon in Thurston County along rail tracks and was quickly knocked down by firefighters. But it shows that any sparks or flame can quickly catch these lowland grasses and shrubbery on fire. Fortunately, winds on Thursday were not strong enough to spread the flames.
This year-to-date, the Seattle area is running just about a half inch below normal rainfall. However, while March was a very wet month, there were fewer overall days with rainfall in April. Also, the wetter March in many parts of the state allowed grasses to grow faster and thicker than they might otherwise be for this time of year. Now that those fuels are dried, they’re becoming increasingly ripe to catch fire.
The outlook for rainfall through next Wednesday is for next to no chance for rain, save for potentially some areas of drizzle early Friday morning.
Over the Mother’s Day weekend, temperatures will rise into the 60s and 70s west of the Cascades, and even warmer east of the mountains. It will also be breezy in central Washington Friday, which will increase fire danger.
The next rain chance looks to come later next week as forecast models point to the potential for a broad trough of low pressure across the Northwest, which could bring cooler temperatures and rain chances.
Until then, enjoy the warmth, but keep an eye out for wildfire!