2025 Washington wildfires

Last updated
2025 Washington wildfires
Hope Fire 7.5.2025.jpg
Hope Fire smoke plume over the Columbia River
Season
←  2024

The 2025 Washington wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires in the U.S. state of Washington.

Contents

Background

Washington Drought Monitor on August 19, 2025 2025 Washington Drought Monitor.png
Washington Drought Monitor on August 19, 2025

While the typical "fire season" in Washington varies every year based on weather conditions, most wildfires occur in between July and October. [1] However, hotter, drier conditions can allow wildfires to start outside of these boundaries. Wildfires tend to start at these times of the year after moisture from winter and spring precipitation dries up. Vegetation and overall conditions are the hottest and driest in these periods. The increase of vegetation can make the fires spread easier. [2]

Events

Predictions for the 2024 fire season made by the National Interagency Fire Center in May 2025 included above normal fire danger across the entire state of Washington by August, one of only two U.S. states so predicted (the other was Oregon). [3] The Washington State Department of Natural Resources stated that the 2025 fire season could begin as soon as June. [4]

The Red Bridge Fire near Cle Elum burned 60 acres (24 ha) by June 9, including two structures. [5] Immediate evacuations were ordered on June 9. [6]

A fire in the Tumwater Canyon of the Wenatchee River closed U.S. Highway 2 on June 10. [7]

Smoke from the Bear Gulch Fire on the Olympic Peninsula, visible on August 12, 2025 over Seattle and obscuring the Olympic Mountains Bear Gulch Fire from Kirkland August 2025.jpg
Smoke from the Bear Gulch Fire on the Olympic Peninsula, visible on August 12, 2025 over Seattle and obscuring the Olympic Mountains

"Go now" evacuations from Copper Creek/Staircase area due to Bear Gulch Fire were ordered on July 30. [8] Staircase Campground was ordered evacuated on July 31. [9] Haze from the fire reached Seattle and other Puget Sound communities the same week. [10] The fire caused unhealthy air conditions in Bellevue on August 4. [11] On August 12, the fire caused pyrocumulus clouds to form, [12] and darkened the skies around the central Puget Sound area, including Seattle. [13] The pyrocumulus cloud above the fire was visible from Seattle to Aberdeen on the Pacific coast. [14]

In late August, a series of lightning-caused fires hit northwestern Washington. The largest of these fires, the Crown Creek Fire, near Northport, Washington in Stevens County grew to more than 3,000 acres without containment as of September 2nd, 2025. [15]

Between September 5–7, fourteen fires burned in both Western Washington and Eastern Washington, four of them larger than 10,000 acres, causing poor air quality across the state. Air quality was unhealthy in Colville, [16] and a "smokestorm" on September 5 caused "extraordinarily unhealthy" conditions north and east of Seattle, with the highest value of particulates ever recorded in Lake Forest Park, a Seattle suburb: 300 micrograms per cubic meter. [17]

By September 10, 133,200 acres had burned in wildfires, and 13 fires were still active. [18]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment date [a] NotesRef
Firewater Yakima 3,820June 8June 9[ citation needed ]
Vansycle Canyon Walla Walla 2,026June 12June 14 [20]
Pomas Chelan 3,468June 13
0%
Lightning-caused. Burning about 36 miles (58 km) northwest of Entiat. [21]
Barstow Walla Walla 1,543June 22June 25Burned in brush and grass, and threatened crops near Prescott. [22] [23]
Apple Acres Chelan 3,410July 2
95%
Human-caused. Burning 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Pateros. Restricted U.S. Route 97 to alternating traffic. [24] [25]
Bear Gulch Mason 10,129July 6
9%
Human-caused, near Lake Cushman [26] [27]
Hope Stevens 8,177July 8
95%
Under investigation. Burning 10 mi (16 km) SW of Northport [28] [29]
Western Pines Lincoln 5,781July 9July 18Human-caused. Burned 10 miles (16 km) north of Davenport. Destroyed 21 homes and 26 outbuildings. [30] [31]
Boundary Road Yakima 1,210July 15July 17Human-caused. Burned 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Toppenish. [32]
Burdoin Klickitat 10,675July 18
94%
Undetermined cause. Burning 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Lyle and has destroyed numerous residential structures. [33] [34]
Lake Spokane Stevens 2,550July 18
16%
Human-caused. Burned north of Spokane near Spokane Lake and U.S. Route 395. Two residential structures burned as of July 22 [35] [36]
Central Ferry Whitman 6,597August 13
40%
Caused by a motorhome fire. Burning 26 miles (42 km) west of Pullman and prompting Level 2 evacuations. Closed State Route 127. [37] [38]
Wildcat Yakima 8,415August 25
8%
East of Mount Rainier National Park, in the William O. Douglas Wilderness – ignited by lightning on August 25 and grew slowly until August 30 [39]
Perry Whatcom 1,763August 27
40%
Lightning caused; above Ross Lake [40]
Crown Creek Complex Stevens 14,190August 29
30%
First treated as a complex of three fires approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) southeast of Marble, Washington
Includes the combined Crown Creek and Blackhawk Mountain Fire.
Katy Creek split off and treated as a separate incident
Started by a lightning storm Fri, 08/29		 [15]
Katy Creek Ferry 3,895August 30
10%
Lightning caused; 6 mi (9.7 km) northwest of Kettle Falls, Washington. Being overseen by same command group as the Crown Creek Complex [41]
Lower Sugarloaf Chelan 17,298September 1
11%
Twelve miles north of Leavenworth; expanded from 100 acres to 6,222 overnight and caused evacuations on September 4 [42] [43]
Rattlesnake Ferry 21,844September 1
85%
2 mi (3.2 km) west of Seven Bays. Started by lightning [44]
Lynx Mountain Ferry 7,839September 2
22%
7 mi (11 km) northwest of Inchelium. Cause is under investigation [45]
2025 Washington wildfires
Perimeters of 2025 Washington wildfires (map data)

Notes

  1. ↑ Containment means that fire crews have established and secured control lines around the fire's perimeter. These lines are artificial barriers, like trenches or cleared vegetation, designed to stop the fire's spread, or natural barriers like rivers. Containment reflects progress in managing the fire but does not necessarily mean the fire is starved of fuel, under control, or put out. [19]

References

  1. ↑ "Wildfire". mil.wa.gov. Emergency Management Division of Washington. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ Swanson, Conrad (August 19, 2023). "WA's wildfire seasons will last longer, cut deeper". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  3. ↑ "National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook". Official website. National Interagency Fire Center Predictive Services. May 1, 2025.
  4. ↑ Raile, Davis (May 2, 2025). "Washington State prepares for above-average wildfire season". Yakima, Washington and Tri-Cities, Washington: KNDO/KNDU NonStop News.
  5. ↑ "'Red Bridge Fire' near Cle Elum likely human-caused, fire officials say". Seattle: KING-TV. June 9, 2025.
  6. ↑ Wixey, Will (June 9, 2025). "Wildfire breaks out near Cle Elum, evacuation orders in place". Tacoma: KCPQ.
  7. ↑ Sullivan, Olivia (June 10, 2025). "Crews contain wildfire near Leavenworth". Seattle: KING-TV.
  8. ↑ "Level 3 evacuations remain in place for Bear Gulch Fire in Mason County, WA". KCPQ. 2025-07-30. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  9. ↑ "Bear Gulch Fire grows to nearly 2,000 acres". Seattle: KIRO-TV. July 31, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Bear Gulch Fire smoke reaches Puget Sound". 29 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Mellits, Mara (August 4, 2025). "'Unhealthy' wildfire smoke billows into Seattle, Bellevue". The Seattle Times.
  12. ↑ Morgan Palmer (August 12, 2025). "Bear Gulch wildfire smoke creates its own cloud formation". Seattle: KIRO-TV.
  13. ↑ "Smoke from Bear Gulch Fire creates hazy sunset across Puget Sound". Seattle: KING-TV. August 13, 2025 – via MSN.
  14. ↑ Isabella Breda (August 24, 2025). "Inside the fight to slow down WA's roller coaster Bear Gulch fire". The Seattle Times.
  15. 1 2 "Crown Creek Fire near Northport now more than 3,000 acres with no containment; fires nearby also grow".
  16. ↑ Brock, Tom (September 7, 2025). "14 Washington state wildfires contribute to smoky conditions, poor air quality". mynorthwest.com. KIRO-FM.
  17. ↑ Cliff Mass (September 6, 2025). "Details of the Extreme, Local Smokestorm". Cliff Mass weather blog.
  18. ↑ Addison, Brandi D. (September 10, 2025). "How many wildfires are active in Washington? 23,000+ acres burned so far this month". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton.
  19. ↑ "What containment and other wildfire related terms mean". Los Angeles: KCAL-TV. September 12, 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  20. ↑ "VANSCYCLE CANYON - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.elpasotimes.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  21. ↑ "POMAS - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.sctimes.com. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Walla Walla County fire threatens crops and conservation land". KNDO. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  23. ↑ "BARSTOW ROAD - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.dailycommerical.com. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  24. ↑ "APPLE ACRES - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.independentmail.com. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  25. ↑ Uyehara, Kai (July 3, 2025). "2,000-acre brush fire burns between Chelan and Okanogan counties". The Seattle Times . Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  26. ↑ Johnson, Shea (August 23, 2025). "Crews are battling the Bear Gulch Fire in a heat wave. What it could mean". The Olympian . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Bear Gulch Fire". Inciweb fire information system. U.S. Government interagency National Wildfire Coordinating Group . Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  28. ↑ Rattner, Mark; Depping, Meridith (July 8, 2025). "State Fire Mobilization authorized for the 3,000 acre Hope Fire". KHQ. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  29. ↑ "HOPE - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.lansingstatejournal.com. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  30. ↑ "WESTERN PINES - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Officials: Western Pines Fire Near Lake Roosevelt Has Destroyed 21 Homes, 47 Structures Total Since Ignition". Your Source One. July 14, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  32. ↑ "BOUNDARY ROAD - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  33. ↑ "BURDOIN - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.redding.com. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Burdoin Fire". inciweb.wildfire.gov. 2025-07-20. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  35. ↑ "Smoke 'thick as pea soup': Lake Spokane fire grows to more than 2,000 acres". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  36. ↑ Waite, Oliver; Rattner, Mark; Fortin, Daniel; McGever, Caleb (July 30, 2025). "Lake Spokane Fire now 100% contained, evacuations hold". KHQ-TV . Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  37. ↑ "CENTRAL FERRY - Wildfire and Smoke Map". data.bucyrustelegraphforum.com. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  38. ↑ McGever, Caleb (August 14, 2025). "Whitman County's Central Ferry Fire burning 6,500+ acres, level 2 evacs in place". KHQ . Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  39. ↑ "Wildcat Fire Information". InciWeb . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Perry Fire". Inciweb. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  41. ↑ "Katy Creek". Inciweb. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  42. ↑ Helen Smith. "Lower Sugarloaf fire prompts evacuations in Chelan County". Seattle: KING-TV – via Yahoo! News.
  43. ↑ "Lower Sugarloaf Fire". Inciweb. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  44. ↑ "Rattlesnake". Inciweb. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  45. ↑ "Lynx Mountain". Inciweb. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
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