2025 in Washington (state)

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See also:	History of Washington (state) Historical outline of Washington (state) List of years in Washington (state) 2025 in the United States

The following is a list of events of the year 2025 in the U.S. state of Washington .

Incumbents

State government

• Governor:
  • Jay Inslee (until January 15)
  • Bob Ferguson (beginning January 15)

Events

January

• January 1 – Minimum wage increases to $16.66 per hour per an adjustment based on the federal Consumer Price Index. ^[1]
• January 2 – Amazon requires employees to be present in South Lake Union headquarters buildings 5 days a week. ^{[2] [3]}
• January 9–11 – Washington firefighters from 43 agencies trek by road to California to support suppression of the 2025 California wildfires ^[4]
• January 13 – The Washington State Legislature convenes at the Washington State Capitol, Olympia, ^[5] and is "the first time that both of a state legislature's chambers have been led by LGBTQ+ people": Laurie Jinkins, Speaker of the House, and Jamie Pedersen, Senate majority leader. ^{[6] [7]}
• January 15 – Bob Ferguson takes office as the 24th Governor of Washington ^[8]
• January 18 – People's March in Seattle

February

• February 24–25 – The second-highest wind gust ever recorded at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 52 miles per hour (84 km/h), is observed during a storm, ^{[9] [10]} and a 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) gust at Boeing Field in Seattle. ^[11] It was related to a sting jet weather phenomenon, according to some meteorologists. ^[12]

March

• Late March – Jeff Bezos sells a house in Hunts Point for $63 million, a record price for a private residence in Washington. ^[13]

April

• by April 1 – Washington State Attorney General files or participates in at least eight federal lawsuits concerning Second Trump administration policies and actions, including DOGE, birthright citizenship, and federal funding for health care and research. ^[14]

May

• May 1 – May Day protests in Seattle and other King County localities including the Eastside; Tacoma; Yakima; Bellingham; Lynnwood and elsewhere in Snohomish County; Olympia; and cities on the Kitsap Peninsula ^{[15] [16]}
• May 5 – Protesters take over a building at the University of Washington, demanding the school sever ties with Boeing. At least 25 people are arrested. ^[17]
• May 7 – Washington driver's licenses may no longer be used as proof of identity for commercial air travel, under the REAL ID Act. ^{[18] [19]}
• May 10 – The 2 Line of Sound Transit's Link light rail system extended east into Downtown Redmond ^{[20] [21]}
• May 14 – Valley Medical Center announces that it will close five clinics and two inpatient units at its hospital as part of the state government's budget cuts and the loss of federal Medicaid reimbursement. ^[22]
• May 30:
  • A semi-truck containing 14 million honeybees overturns in Whatcom County, releasing most of the bees. ^[23]
  • Decker children killings: Sisters Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia Decker (ages 9, 8 and 5 respectively) are reported missing from Wenatchee after their father Travis Decker does not return them from a custodial visit. They are found dead three days later, and Travis Decker is charged with murder. He has currently not been located. ^[24]

June

• June 8–present – 2025 Washington wildfire season starts with the Cle Elum blaze destroying two homes. ^[25]
• June 14 – No Kings protests in many cities. ^{[26] [27]}

July

• July 18 – a fuel tanker truck crash near Port Angeles spills approximately approximately 2,798 US gallons (10,590 L) of gasoline and 172 US gallons (650 L) of diesel fuel into Indian Creek, killing more than 2,000 fish. ^[28]

August

• August 13–17 – 83rd World Science Fiction Convention in Seattle
• August 26 – Redmond police remove and arrest protesters from Microsoft president Brad Smith's office in building 34 of the corporate campus. ^[29]
• August 27 – Border Patrol agents arrest two firefighters helping fight the Bear Gulch Fire on the Olympic Peninsula. ^[30]
• August 30: Revive in 25 Christian rally, Gas Works Park, Seattle, and kazoo band counter-protest ^{[31] [32]}

September

• September 3 – A federal judge ends the Seattle Police Department's consent decree with the Department of Justice, which had been in place since 2012. ^[33]
• September 5–7 – 2025 Washington wildfires, including fourteen fires burning in both Western Washington and Eastern Washington, four of them larger than 10,000 acres. Air quality was unhealthy in Colville, ^[34] 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. ^[35]

September 17 – Four Army soldiers are killed when their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashes near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. ^[36]

Planned

• November 4: elections
  • 2025 King County, Washington Executive election
  • 2025 Seattle mayoral election

Sports

Events

• The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will host six matches at Lumen Field in Seattle, including three home matches for Seattle Sounders FC. ^[37]

Professional

• 2024–25 Seattle Kraken season
• 2025 Seattle Mariners season
• 2025 Seattle Sounders FC season
• 2025 Seattle Storm season

College

• 2024–25 Eastern Washington Eagles men's basketball team
• 2024–25 Gonzaga Bulldogs women's basketball team
• 2024–25 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
• 2024–25 Seattle Redhawks men's basketball team
• 2024–25 Washington Huskies men's basketball team
• 2024–25 Washington Huskies women's basketball team
• 2024–25 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team
• September 20: Apple Cup in Pullman ^[38]

References

1. "Washington's minimum wage going up to $16.66 per hour in 2025" (Press release). Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. September 30, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
2. Soper, Taylor (January 2, 2025), Downtown Seattle leader calls Amazon's return-to-office mandate 'influential' as 5-day policy begins, Geekwire
3. Nickelsburg, Monica (January 2, 2025). "Amazon requires staff to return to office full time". Here and Now . Boston: WBUR. On Jan. 2, all of Amazon's office staff must return to the office five days a week.
4. Wade, Katy (January 9, 2025). "Washington firefighters head out to help with devastating California wildfires". KIRO-TV.
5. Shauna Sowersby (November 27, 2024). "Class of 2025: Meet Washington state's newest lawmakers". Cascade PBS . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
6. Buhain, Venice (November 26, 2024). "Washington House selects leadership for 2025 session". Cascade PBS . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
7. Zodrow, Andru (November 24, 2024). "Washington State Legislature website gets refresh before 2025 legislative session". Spokane: KHQ-TV . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
8. Didion, Alex (November 7, 2024). "Here's when Bob Ferguson will be sworn in as Washington's next governor". KING 5 News . Retrieved December 4, 2024.
9. @NWSSeattle (February 25, 2025). "52 mph peak gust at Seattle-Tacoma airport earlier this morning only 1 mph short of the strongest peak gust recorded in February at Seattle-Tacoma airport" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. Alex Didion (February 25, 2025). "These were the fastest recorded wind speeds during the overnight storm in western Washington". KING-TV.
11. @NWSSeattle (February 25, 2025). "Olympia to Bellingham pressure gradient has increased 5 millibars in the last 3 hours" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. "Atmospheric river pattern blowing into Grays Harbor". The Daily World. Aberdeen, Washington. February 25, 2025. As the storm intensified and pummeled into the Northwest Coast on Monday, AccuWeather meteorologists [Jacob Hinson quoted in the article] warned that an atmospheric phenomenon called a "sting jet" can occur. A meteorological term that has been growing in popularity in the United Kingdom since the early 2000s, a sting jet is a small area of intense winds that can develop underneath low pressure systems, causing extensive wind damage.
13. Lake, Sydney (April 16, 2025), "Jeff Bezos sold his Seattle mansion for a record-breaking $63 million after he and fiancée Lauren Sánchez moved to Miami to live in a $237 million compound", Fortune
14. Melissa Santos (April 2, 2025). "How Washington state is suing Trump in his second term". Axios .
15. "Seattle's protest legacy: From strikes to CHOP". Axios . April 30, 2025.
16. "Thousands gather for May Day demonstrations, marches around western Washington". KOMO. Associated Press. May 1, 2025.
17. Cook, Jeffrey; Shalvey, Kevin; Skinner, Helena (May 6, 2025). "More than 25 protesters arrested after taking over University of Washington building". ABC News. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
18. "REAL ID Act". Washington State Department of Licensing . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
19. Montalvo, Rosemary (November 23, 2024). "Do WA residents need an enhanced driver's license to fly this Thanksgiving? What to know". The News Tribune . Retrieved December 3, 2024.
20. Lindblom, Mike (February 15, 2024). "Sound Transit sets a date for Bellevue-Redmond trains". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
21. "Hello, Redmond". Official website. Sound Transit. Retrieved 2025-05-05. The Downtown Redmond Link Extension opens May 10!
22. Takahama, Elise (May 14, 2025). "Seattle-area hospital to close 5 clinics, and some inpatient care". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
23. Vigdor, Neil (June 2, 2025). "14 Million Honeybees Escape After a Truck Rolls Over in Washington State". The New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
24. "Pewaukee native on the run after death of his three daughters in Washington state". WISN-TV . WISN-TV . Retrieved 5 June 2025.
25. https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/local/washington/2025/06/12/red-bridge-fire-evacuations-containment-and-damage-updates-cle-elum/84165169007/#
26. Carter, Simone (June 13, 2025). "WA leaders urge non-violence as state braces for 'No Kings' protest". Tacoma News Tribune.
27. Byik, Andre (June 13, 2025). "See the 80+ 'No Kings' rally, protest locations planned in Washington on June 14". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton Washington – via USA Today.
28. "Petro Card Indian Creek Fuel Spill 2025". Washington State Department of Ecology . Retrieved August 5, 2025.
29. BISHOP, Todd (August 26, 2025). "Protesters occupy Microsoft president's office at Redmond HQ in latest action over Israel contracts". Geekwire .
30. Tebor, Celina (August 30, 2025). "Border Patrol arrests 2 crew workers helping battle Washington's biggest wildfire for being in the country illegally". CNN. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
31. Jim Brunner; Caitlyn Freeman (August 30, 2025). "Gospel and kazoos face off at Christian concert, protest in Seattle". The Seattle Times.
32. Noel Gasca (August 27, 2025). "Capitol Hill LGBTQ+ organization pushes back against upcoming religious rally". Seattle: KUOW.
33. Attanasio, Cesar (September 3, 2025). "Federal judge ends 13-year oversight of Seattle Police Department after use-of-force reforms". The Associated Press. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
34. Brock, Tom (September 7, 2025). "14 Washington state wildfires contribute to smoky conditions, poor air quality". mynorthwest.com. KIRO-FM.
35. Cliff Mass (September 6, 2025). "Details of the Extreme, Local Smokestorm". Cliff Mass weather blog.
36. Bellisle, Martha (September 19, 2025). "Army says 4 soldiers died in a helicopter crash in Washington state this week". The Associated Press. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
37. Booth, Tim (October 15, 2024). "Lumen Field will host games for FIFA Club World Cup in 2025". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
38. Londergan, Joe (October 16, 2024). "Date For 2025 Apple Cup Football Game Announced At Washington State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 3, 2024.