In 2024, 1,800 fires scorched around 300,000 acres across federal, state, tribal, and privately owned land in Washington. The state’s lead firefighting agency, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), responded to 826 fires and conducted hundreds of aerial water drops using DNR planes and helicopters.
Last year’s single largest forest fire, the Retreat Fire, burned more than 21,000 acres. The largest brush fire was nearly twice that size. There were more than 300 DNR fires west of the Cascades and over 500 on the eastern side of the state.
While the 2024 fire season was well below the 10-year average in Washington, Oregon endured one of its worst fire years on record, with more than 1.5 million acres burned.
The first wildfire of the 2025 season to exceed 100 acres broke out last week in Okanogan County.
In an appearance on TVW’s The Impact, Matt Dehr, Lead Wildfire Meteorologist for DNR, shared his outlook for the season ahead.
“The east slopes of the Cascades from about Lake Chelan south to I-90. That portion of the mountains, that portion of the Columbia basin out there really missing out on the precipitation. That’s where I see our first issues being,” said Dehr.
In 2023, Washington experienced a La Niña transition, but this year conditions are different.
“We are in perfectly neutral conditions—no El Niño, no La Niña,” Dehr explained.
Lightning is a frequent wildfire trigger, and weather heavily influences how quickly fires spread. Meteorologists can see storms coming, but the leading cause of fires in Washington is harder to anticipate.
“Human-caused ignitions account for over 60% of our wildfires—sometimes up to 70 or 80%,” said Dehr.
Dehr warns that well established early fires can burn for months, referencing last summer’s Pioneer Fire as a prime example.
“Ignited in June and it burned all season long,” said Dehr. “So as we start getting into fire season, limiting those human caused ignitions, typically in the early part is is really, really big to to putting our fire season on a more normal trajectory.”