Fire danger continues to increase in central Washington as triple-digit temperatures are forecasted for next week.
Eleven counties are now listed as very high or extreme wildfire danger, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Those counties include Grant, Adams, Douglas, Okanogan, Chelan, Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat, Benton, Franklin and Whitman. “Drought and abnormally dry conditions continue to expand across the region,” officials from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center stated. “These conditions are likely to exacerbate fire behavior potential once the weather changes to a more summer like pattern.”
That “more summer like pattern” appears to be on its way as temperatures are expected to hit triple-digits by Sunday in the Columbia Basin.