A mix of preparation and good luck has led to the quietest Washington state wildfire season in 15 years, even after a severe drought had the state expecting the worst, state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland said yesterday.

"A cannon-sized bullet we dodged, and we've dodged it now for five years," Sutherland said.

Unprecedented snow melt in the state's mountains led Gov. Christine Gregoire to declare a statewide drought emergency in March.

Days later it started raining and continued through June.

To date, there have been at least 813 fires that have burned at least 95,346 acres on state and federal land.

The 10-year average for the number of fires in the state is 1,467, with 145,389 acres burned.

The worst fire year in the state was 1994, when 2,260 fires burned 495,812 acres.

But Sutherland said the state is not out of the woods yet. "Fire season's not over yet," he said. "It's so unpredictable."