Fire danger above average in Eastern Washington

By Jeff Barnard
The Associated Press

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West of the Cascades, the 2004 preliminary fire-risk assessment from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland projects normal fire danger. The southeastern corner of Oregon also falls within the normal range.

The outlook could change significantly, depending on rainfall and temperatures, when it is updated in May and again at the end of June, said Paul Werth, fire-weather program manager for the coordination center.

"Right now, according to our statistics, it looks like we would need an extremely wet three-month period coming up here to really ease the fire-danger situation," Werth said. "If it stays dry, (elevated fire danger) could spread across the Cascades onto the west side, too."

The outlook was developed at a gathering of federal-government climatologists and fire meteorologists last week in Phoenix.

It is based on fire and weather patterns since 1970, last winter's precipitation and snowpack, long-term drought, and fuel buildup in forests.

"Many of the areas east of the Cascades have had four to five years of drought," Werth said. "That is one of the driving factors."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company