Don’t Panic Central, Eastern WA–Those Are ‘Prescribed,’ Planned, WDFW Fires Coming

The're called "prescribed" fires, and are used to thin out fuel, clean out dead materials, and prevent even bigger issues if there's a real fire later.

  Prescribed Burns in Eastern, Cental WA Will Send up Plumes of Smoke

Every year, the Department of Fish and Wildlife treats areas designated for forest management.  Utilizing numerous forest fire workers, tanker trucks and more, they perform controlled burns to clear out dangerous areas.

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This year, three major burns are planned for Central and Eastern WA, according to WDFW. They include:

• "T. Murray Unit of the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area: 300 acres in Kittitas County about 15 miles west of Ellensburg.
• Golden Doe Unit of the Methow Wildlife Area: About 80 acres in Okanogan County, 4 miles south of Twisp.
• Carter Mountain Unit of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area: About 100 acres in Okanogan County, 6 miles southwest of Tonasket."

WDFW manages over a million acres of wildlands and forests in WA State, these prescribed burns are dependent on good weather, no wind and other factors. They are planned for later this March, but will be postponed if windy or dangerous conditions are present.

WDFW will reissue notifications to the public, to make sure they know these are controlled, planned burns.  It's not uncommon for multiple emergency calls to come in from rural residents who spot the smoke and report a fire.

WDFW says the smoke from these can be inconvenient, but it's a far better alternative to knock back fire fuel from deceased or dead vegetation, so if blazes do occur later, they're far less damaging.  WDFW says in some cases, prescribed burn areas are relatively untouched even a year or more down the road if wildfires do occur.

It's because so much of the fuel has been removed, the fires don't move as fast if at all.