Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee−East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,263 at the 2020 census. The entire town center is modeled on a German Bavarian village as part of a civic initiative that began in the 1960s.
The Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County in north-central Washington, United States.
Stehekin is a small unincorporated community in Chelan County, Washington. The name "Stehekin" comes from a word in the Salishan language that means "the way through". Stehekin has somewhat more than 100 permanent residents, but vacationers and seasonal workers increase its population during the summer.
Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres, it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from Okanogan National Forest to Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The forest is located in Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima counties.
The Pasayten Wilderness is a 531,539 acres (215,106 ha) protected area located within Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington state, centered on the Three Forks of the Pasayten River, a tributary of the Similkameen River. Although part of the wilderness lies in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the largest section falls within the boundaries of Okanogan National Forest, which has responsibility for the wilderness's management. The wilderness is bordered by the Stephen Mather Wilderness to the west. The northern boundary of the wilderness is the Canada–US border. Across the border are Manning Provincial Park and Cathedral Provincial Park. The wilderness area is adjacent to the Ross Lake National Recreation Area to the west, and North Cascades National Park beyond that. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail has its northernmost section in this wilderness. The western part of the wilderness features dramatic views and peaks of the northern Washington Cascade Mountains while the eastern section is known for its grasslands and Alpine tundra. The tallest point in the Pasayten is Jack Mountain.
Norse Peak Wilderness is a 52,315-acre (21,171 ha) designated wilderness area located in central Washington in the United States. It protects the portion of the Cascade Range north of Chinook Pass, south of Naches Pass, and east of Mount Rainier National Park. It is bordered by the William O. Douglas Wilderness to the south. The wilderness is named for a prominent peak which overlooks Crystal Mountain Ski Area. Roughly triangular, it is about 10 miles (16 km) across and contains no roads.
Cathedral Provincial Park and Protected Area, usually known as Cathedral Provincial Park and also as Cathedral Park, is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of E.C. Manning Provincial Park, south of BC Highway 3, and southeast of the town of Princeton, and southwest of Keremeos. Its southern boundary is the border with the United States. Much of the park is the basin of the Ashnola River. Cathedral Park is home to teal sub-alpine lakes, vast ridges and jarred peaks, old-growth forests, and rock formations of siltstone, granodiorite, and basalt. Hikers can scramble along various peaks such as the 8000-foot Grimface Mountain and Lakeview Mountain. Tourists flock to Smokey the Bear and Stone City because of their unique formations with incredible views formed by millennia of erosion, volcanic and tectonic activity, and glacial recession.
Holden Village is a year-round Lutheran Christian center in the North Cascade mountains of the U.S. state of Washington. Formerly the site of one of the largest copper mines in the United States, the Holden mine, Holden is accessible only by a Lake Chelan passenger ferry, or by hiking in through the Cascade Mountains. Holden Village is the largest retreat center in the nation operating under a special use permit from the United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service.
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a 1.92-million-acre (7,770 km2) wildlife habitat preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. It is adjacent to Kenai Fjords National Park. This refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, but in 1980 it was changed to its present status by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The refuge is administered from offices in Soldotna. The Kenai Wilderness protects 1,354,247 acres of the refuge as wilderness area.
The geography of the North Cascades describes a range of rugged mountains in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, United States. In Canada, the range is officially named the Cascade Mountains but is commonly referred to as the Canadian Cascades.
The 2012 Washington wildfires were a series of 1,342 wildfires that burned 259,526 acres (1,050 km2) over the course of 2012. The fires primarily occurred in the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests during September and October 2012. A severe lightning storm on September 8 caused hundreds of fires across the east side of Cascade Range. Smoke caused hazardous air quality conditions in the cities of Ellensburg and Wenatchee, and was noticeable in Seattle. The cost of fighting the largest four fires was estimated to be $67.5 million.
The 2014 Washington wildfires were a series of 1,480 wildfires that burned 386,972 acres (1,566 km2) over the course of 2014. The first occurred primarily on the east side of the Cascade Range in Chelan and Okanogan counties. The fires burned private land, state land, and within the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, ultimately covering over 350,000 acres. The first fire began on July 8 near the Entiat River. On July 14 a lightning storm started dozens more fires across the eastern Cascade Range. Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency, activating the Washington National Guard. More lightning strikes later in the summer started additional fires.
The 2015 wildfire season was the largest in Washington state history, with more than one million acres burning across the state from June to September. As many as 3,000 firefighters including 800 Washington National Guard members were deployed to fight the fires. The 17th Field Artillery Brigade of the United States Army also deployed 200 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis–McChord to help fight the fires.
The Carlton Complex Fire was a massive wildfire in north central Washington which burned 256,108 acres (1,036.4 km2) during the 2014 Washington wildfire season. It began on July 14, 2014, as four separate lightning-caused fires in the Methow Valley which merged into one by July 18. The complex destroyed 353 homes in and around the towns of Pateros and Brewster, as well as rural Okanogan County. The fire caused an estimated $98 million in damages. The Carlton Complex remains the largest single wildfire in Washington state history, surpassing the 1902 Yacolt Burn.
The 2016 Washington wildfires season were a series of wildfires in the U.S. state of Washington, notable because of brush fires near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and because of brush fires near Spokane, Washington.
The 2017 Washington wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned over the course of 2017, a year that set weather records for heat and aridity in both Western Washington and Eastern Washington.
The Railroad Fire was a wildfire that burned in between the communities of Sugar Pine and Fish Camp in the Sierra National Forest in California, United States. The fire was reported on August 29, 2017 and burned 12,407 acres (50 km2) before it was fully contained on October 24. It occurred during the historic 2011–2017 California drought. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
The Jack Creek Fire was a wildfire in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington, approximately 15 miles southwest of Leavenworth, Washington in the United States. It was started by a lightning strike on August 11, 2017. The fire burned a total of 4,606 acres (19 km2).
The 2021 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2021. By late April, all of Eastern Washington had been classified by the United States Drought Monitor as "abnormally dry" with moderate to severe drought conditions. The state had more than 630 wildfires by the first week of July, on par with the state's record 2015 wildfire season.
The 2022 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2022. As of August 4, 2022, there have been four large wildfires that have burned 30,800 acres (12,500 ha) across the US state of Washington. This season started quieter than normal due to unusually colder weather that kept Eastern and Southeastern Washington burning index's largely below normal into July. As of October 2022, a total of 140,000 acres (57,000 ha) of land in the state was burned – the fewest number of acres burned since 2012.
