WACD Reading List

Firefighters were working in extreme temperatures across the U.S. West and struggling to contain wildfires, the largest burning in California and Oregon, as another heat wave baked the region, straining power grids. The largest wildfire of the year in California — the Beckwourth Complex — was raging along the Nevada state line and has burned about 134 square miles as state regulators asked consumers to voluntarily “conserve as much electricity as possible” to avoid any outages starting Monday afternoon. In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire exploded to 224 square miles as it raced through heavy timber in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to neighboring California.

YAKIMA COUNTY -- As of 8:50 p.m. on Saturday, Yakima Valley Emergency Management has issued Level 2 and Level 3 Evacuations for the area north of Roza Hill Drive, East of North 57th Avenue, South of the Yakima Training Center, and along Chapman Road. Residents are advised to evacuate now or be ready to evacuate as the fire continues to move south towards Terrace Heights. Firefighters are working diligently to slow this fire down but weather conditions are working against them, according to emergency management.

Spokane keeps setting ominous weather records this year. The region in 2021 had its driest, and second hottest, Feb. 1 through July 10 stretch since record-keeping began in 1881, according to the National Weather Service. And the unwelcome weather isn’t letting up soon, with 100-degree days and no rain forecast this week. Wilson said 2021 has been one of the hottest, driest years in the region’s history. The stretch from Feb. 1 through July 10 has been the second hottest Spokane has ever seen, behind only 2015 – which was the worst wildfire year in state history. “Acres burned are mostly highly correlated to the summertime temperatures, so it’s not a good thing that we see temperatures of this magnitude,” Wilson said.

At more than 300 farms, Washington state accounts for a quarter of U.S. shellfish production — valued at $108 million in market sales — according to the Pacific Shellfish Institute. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife received at least six reports of shellfish die-off in Puget Sound waters after the record heat in late June, according to communications manager Ben Anderson. Some came from the public on recreational shellfish beaches and one from a grower. “The suspicion, obviously, is it’s related to the heat wave,” Anderson said. Like Macias, he noted the impact won’t be known for some time but said the department is actively monitoring potential fallout.

Klamath County sheriff’s deputies began handing out citations and issued a stern warning that they may start arresting people who refuse to follow evacuation orders as the intense Bootleg fire continues to burn national forestland and threaten several small southern Oregon towns. The wildfire grew to around 148,000 acres by Sunday afternoon after dangerous conditions Saturday prompted firefighters to pull back and move to safety zones. Crews were back on the fire lines Sunday.

PENDLETON (July 10, 2021) – Firefighters continue suppression efforts on the Green Ridge Fire, which has now burned approximately 143 acres on the Pomeroy Ranger District. The Green Ridge Fire, which is located approximately 30 miles east of Walla Walla, Washington, is comprised of two wildfires burning in steep, rugged terrain, consisting of mostly timber, grass and shrubs. Values at risk include structures in the area. Yesterday’s fire behavior consisted of active upslope runs, spotting and torching. Steep ground with rolling rocks and burning material is adding to fire growth and containment difficulties. Firefighters, aided by aerial resources, focused suppression efforts on protecting the values at risk and establishing containment lines to slow the spread of the fire.

CHILOQUIN — Two wildfires in southern Oregon doubled in size by Saturday morning, bringing widespread smoke across the southern half of the state. The Bootleg fire in Klamath County grew from 61 square miles on Friday to almost 119 square miles on Saturday in the Fremont-Winema National Forest and on private land.

ASOTIN, Wash. — Emergency first responders and fire crews from throughout Southeast Washington are combatting a string of wildfires that were caused by passing thunderstorms on Wednesday morning. According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — Forest Service, authorities from the Pomeroy Ranger District are hard at work trying to contain wildfires across the Umatilla National Forest. As a result, authorities have closed Forest Service Road (FSR) 41, FSR 43 and, FSR 44 along with all trails within the closure. By this point, the Lick Creek Fire has burned over 2,600 acres of National Forest land. Now, that fire has converged with the Dry Gulch Fire, which began on Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) land nearby.

Experts hold little to no optimism about this year’s wheat harvest after droughts during the spring and summer, and the record heat wave, shriveled fields in the Inland Northwest. Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, said he’s expecting winter wheat to be about 50 bushels per acre for Eastern Washington when the average tends to be about 70 bushels per acre. Harvesting has not started in the region, but some results have come in from farms in drier south-central Washington that start the process earlier. They’re not good.

Last week, a “thousand-year” heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest and adjacent British Columbia with widespread highs topping 100 degrees, resulting in a death toll in the hundreds. The Canadian province’s Lytton climbed to 121 degrees and established new national records three days in a row before the town burned in heat-intensified wildfires. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday that the heat wave helped the United States clinch its hottest June on record. Eight states had their hottest Junes, including Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.

The Batterman Fire burning in Douglas County reduced to an estimated 14,100 acres with 80% containment as of Friday morning, according to the Northwest Incident Management Team mobilized to help fight the fire. Level 3, 2, 1 evacuation notices were issued for homes near the brush fire that started burning Sunday in Douglas County.

EPHRATA — Crews contained a roughly 150-acre brush fire northwest of Ephrata late last night. Grant County Fire District 13 reported making progress containing the lightning-caused fire with the help of a farmer and their tractor disc, according to a Fire District 13 Facebook post. Firefighters had “significantly reduced” the fire by the end of the night, reported the fire district.

LIND, Wash. — Washington State University researchers are assessing the losses after a wildfire burned a portion of the dryland research station. The fire started shortly before 11 a.m. June 27, east of Lind, about half a mile away from the station. It burned a total of 2,100 acres.

It is perhaps ironic that when cool, cloudy air floods western Washington as it did yesterday, winds surge in eastern Washington, leading to the potential of rapid wildfire growth.

It's been more than three weeks since Seattle had measurable rainfall, and the impacts are showing.

In 2015, extremely warm water combined with low stream flows. The Snake River sockeye run that year was supposed to break records. Instead, nearly 99% of the run died before it reached Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley. Improvements were also made to the system after 2015 to help temperatures at fish ladders. Idaho Fish and Game can also trap and haul sockeye captured at Lower Granite Dam to the Sawtooth Hatchery, when it deems the water is too warm.

Did you know that wildfire can affect forest soils? The effect of fire on trees, shrubs, and herbaceous (non-woody) plants are easily visible. It is not so easy, however, to see the effect wildfire has on the forest soil. There is more under your feet than what you see with the naked eye. Whole communities of organisms live in the soil contributing to the health of the forest itself.

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State University researchers have received funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to examine how virtual fencing technology could improve the water quality and ecosystems of cattle grazing lands. The new EPA grant totaling more than $800,000 supports research on how GPS-enabled collars worn by cattle can help producers not only better manage grazing, but also improve water quality and other natural resources, such as wildlife habitat and soil health.

LYNDEN, Wash. — The raspberries growing high on the rows of vines Rolf Haugen has cultivated on his Lynden farm for 41 years should not look like this on July 5. “They’re sunburned and shriveled,” said Haugen, who says he has never seen such damage from the heat of a single day — June 28, when temperatures reached 108 degrees on his farm — and the highest in recorded history for Lynden.

WENATCHEE — The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for North Central Washington due to forecasted winds and potential thunderstorms come Wednesday. The weather watch goes into effect at midnight and is set to last through Wednesday evening.

Once wildfires start, one of the ways they spread is through firebrands that blow into unburned areas. Despite their importance in spreading fires, relatively little is known about how many firebrands different kinds of vegetation generate during wildfires. “If you want to understand how to control (wildfire) or contain it or prevent it, it’s helpful to know how it spreads,” he says.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Biden administration plans to issue a new rule to protect the rights of farmers who raise cows, chickens and hogs against the country’s largest meat processors as part of a plan to encourage more competition in the agriculture sector.

Starting Jan. 1, employed Washingtonians will start paying about half a percent of their wages into the program through an automatic deduction from each paycheck. The median wage in Washington is $52,000 a year. Veghte says the typical worker will pay about $28 a month or $14 a paycheck.

Firefighters at the blaze near Cheney, now called the Andrus Fire, held growth at 300 acres overnight, but the fire is still 0% contained as of Tuesday morning. Evacuation orders were updated Tuesday morning to a region that spanned from Hallett Road to the north to Andrus Road to the south. The western boundary of the map included Fruitvale road and Taylor road. To the east, the area reached Grove Road before cutting back west toward Andrus Road.

Extreme climate change has arrived in America

EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. — The Batterman Fire, which started about noon on the Fourth of July, grew to 7,900 acres by Monday evening, burning brush and grass in steep terrain near East Wenatchee and Rock Island. About 10% of the fire’s perimeter was contained, and firefighters burned the west side of Rock Island Grade to hold the fire’s southeastern line, according to the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team out of Pasco.

While diversifying staff and leadership is critical, it doesn’t always ensure racial equity. Even when an organization is filled with well-intentioned people, racism often persists because our systems, policies, and practices continue to be racially inequitable. We need to move beyond our usual JDEI frame of thinking to truly transform our organizations to become more racially equitable.