Monday, June 02, 2025
54.0°F

FIRE REPORT: High temps increase fire risks

JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 9 months AGO
by JOEL MARTIN
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 14, 2023 4:11 PM

PORTLAND, Ore.— Almost 85% of all fires in the Northwest this year have been caused by human action, according to data from the Northwest Interagency Fire Center, which tracks wildfires in Washington and Oregon.

So far this year, there have been 1,295 fires in Washington state, of which 25 grew into large fires, defined by the NIFC as 100 acres or greater in timber or 300 acres or greater in grasslands or rangelands. Of those, 1,166 were caused by human activity, 23 of those becoming large fires. Only 129 fires, two of them large, were caused by lightning strikes.

These wildfires were burning in Washington Monday, according to the NIFC:

• Skull Springs, about 19 miles northwest of Ellensburg: 2 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 14. Containment and cost information not available.

• Island, about 7 miles northwest of Olympia: 1.5 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 13. Containment and cost information not available.

• Offutt Lake, about 7 miles southwest of Olympia: 2.9 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 13. Containment and cost information not available.

• Rochester Street, about 13 miles southeast of Olympia: 7 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 13. Containment and cost information not available.

• Mulqueen, about 17 miles southeast of Olympia: 15 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 12. Containment and cost information not available.

• Sourdough, about 60 miles east of Bellingham: 2,586 acres. Fire discovered July 29. 5% contained. Costs estimated at $16 million.

• Dome Peak, about 50 miles northwest of Leavenworth: 30 acres. Fire discovered July 29. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $60,000.

• Chocolate Creek, about 45 miles northwest of Leavenworth: 15 acres. Fire discovered July 20 0% contained. Costs estimated at $90,000.

• Fleming, about 13 miles southeast of Spokane: 7 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 8. Containment and cost information not available.

• Margarita, about 18 miles north of Ocean Shores, 61 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $2.5 million.

• Airplane Lake, about 50 miles northwest of Chelan: 100 acres. Fire discovered July 7. 0% contained. Costs estimated at $50,000.

• Eagle Bluff, on the Canadian border outside Oroville: 16,428 acres. 90% contained. Costs estimated at $9.9 million.

• West Anderson, about 1 mile northeast of Cheney: 35 acres. Fire discovered Aug. 2. 80% contained. Costs estimated at $379,864.

• West Hallett, about 2 miles west of Spokane: 126 acres. Fire discovered July 31. 99% contained. Costs estimated at $1.68 million.

• Newell Road, about 17 miles east of Goldendale: 60,551 acres. Fire discovered July 21. 100% contained. Costs estimated at $9.9 million.

• Consalus, about 20 miles north of Newport: 475 acres. Fire discovered June 30. 83% contained. Costs estimated at $10 million.

Joel Martin may be reached at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN

Royal Dairy models self-sufficient farming
June 2, 2025 3 a.m.

Royal Dairy models self-sufficient farming

ROYAL CITY — Words like “sustainable” and “regenerative agriculture” get tossed around a lot. But a Royal Slope farm recently showed the world how it works in reality.

Newhouse reintroduces Farm Workforce Modernization Act
May 29, 2025 4:11 p.m.

Newhouse reintroduces Farm Workforce Modernization Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan bill to make hiring and retaining foreign farm workers more feasible was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives May 7 by Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-WA, and Zoe Lofgren, D-CA. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2025 would establish a new category for foreign nationals living in the U.S. and working on farms and ranches. To qualify as a certified agricultural worker, or CAW, an immigrant would have to have worked in the U.S. for at least 180 days in the last two years and be inadmissible or deportable but be under a grant of deferred departure or hold temporary protected status, according to a fact sheet from Newhouse’s office. A CAW’s spouse and children could also be eligible to remain in the U.S. as certified agricultural dependents. A CAW would be eligible to work in the U.S. year-round, unlike seasonal workers admitted under the H2-A visa program. “In the past few years, we’ve seen labor shortages contribute to high food prices. If it wasn’t obvious before, the pandemic made clear that our country’s agricultural workforce rules are in dire need of reform,” Lofgren wrote in a statement. “The men and women who work America’s farms feed the nation. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act stabilizes the workforce, which will protect the future of our farms and our food supply. It’s well past time we get this legislation that serves the best interests of our country to the president’s desk.”

Loans, grants help a new generation of farmers take the field
May 29, 2025 3:53 p.m.

Loans, grants help a new generation of farmers take the field

SPOKANE VALLEY — As many as a third of farmers in the United States are over the age of 65, according to a study by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Farm Financial Management. Many of these have family members to pass their farms on to, but in order for American agriculture to continue, a new generation of farmers is needed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has assistance available for beginning farmers or those who are returning to the field after an absence, according to an announcement from the USDA. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers farm ownership and farm operating loans to farmers and ranchers who have trouble obtaining commercial credit from a bank, according to the announcement. “Farming and ranching is a capital-intensive business and FSA is committed to helping producers start and maintain their agricultural operations,” Geremy Nelson, FSA Acting State Executive Director in Washington, wrote in the announcement. “FSA loans are designed to make sure that everyone has access to credit. Last year, FSA in Washington obligated $32.9 million in loans to beginning farmers and ranchers.”