() — Driven by strong winds and unusually high temperatures, a wildfire in Washington state burned some 2,000 acres on Sunday, forcing thousands of evacuations.
The fire, called Nakia Creek Firebegan on October 9 in Larch Mountain, northeast of Camas in Clark County, near the Oregon border, burning and creeping through steep, rocky terrain in the Yacolt Burn State Forest.
The fire grew in size from 63 to 810 hectares in a matter of hours this Sunday amid severe weather conditions, with extremely hot temperatures, low humidity and strong winds, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
Firefighters reported good progress fighting the blaze earlier in the week, then weather conditions worsened, with winds fanning the flames as they ripped through dry wood, brush and grass. The Nakia Creek Fire was 5% contained Sunday night.
“The easterly winds were so strong today that air assets were grounded at times for safety,” officials said from the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency in an evening update.
Final update for the evening on #NakiaCreekFire and we have an additional area that is now under a “Level 1 Be Ready” notice. All updates are at https://t.co/1fAeXKC9b4 #Clarkwa #vanwa pic.twitter.com/Bk7Wo5tbbd
— CRESA Talk (@CRESATalk) October 17, 2022
As the fire broke out on extremely steep terrain and pushed farther out, more residents were told to leave their homes.
Nearly 3,000 homes were under evacuation orders as of Sunday night, with thousands more ordered to prepare to flee.
A Red Flag warning has been extended through next Sunday for the area, amid unusual heat and dry easterly winds.
This year’s fire season has been a long one for fire crews in Washington state, as they have been working long days for several months, Clark County officials said, noting that fire season is usually over for the area. in October.
Numerous wildfires continue across the Cascades this afternoon with smoke moving northward. Critical fire weather conditions into this evening with stronger winds and dry weather. #WAwx pic.twitter.com/n6TysHaStr
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) October 16, 2022
“With the current weather patterns here in the PNW, we have another good week of potential fire weather,” officials with the Clark County Regional Emergency Services Agency said, describing a fire official telling crews that “While the calendar may say it’s October 16…I need you to think it’s August 16.”
Some area cities saw record temperatures over the weekend. The temperature in Seattle reached 31 degrees Celsius on Sunday, marking its second warmest October day on record and breaking the daily record of 22 degrees set in 2018, according to the National Weather Service.
Authorities reported other fires in the area on Sunday, including near Chelatchie Prairie and Sunset Campground in Clark County, as well as several in neighboring Skamania County.
As the fire continues, winds are expected to die down, but temperatures will remain well above average for the next few days, Meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.
The Nakia Fire is in an area where temperatures are around 10 degrees above average, and hot conditions will persist through Thursday before falling to average and below average over the weekend, Shackelford said. Rain is also likely over the weekend, bringing some much-needed relief to firefighters.
