Washington state has a fairly dry, arid climate, Ms. “These extreme weather conditions are difficult on harvest timing, and fruit is maturing so there is specific timing you really need to get fruit off of the trees,” said Toni Lynn Adams, the commission spokeswoman. As wildfires have raged within the state and smoke has blanketed multiple regions, crop operations have dwindled because of increased safety risks. The state saw a windy Labor Day weekend, causing dust storms in eastern Washington that led to apples falling off trees and damage to trellis systems. Washington state, the nation’s top apple producer, is expected to see a lower crop volume this harvest season because of recent poor conditions.Ĭrop volume is expected to decrease 5 to 10 percent, according to the Washington Apple Commission, a nonprofit governing body that promotes the state’s apple industry. Windstorms and wildfires along the West Coast could have a damaging effect on this year’s apple season. In a dashboard video tweeted by the Oregon State Police, a trooper’s car can be seeing driving through the haze of a forested road when a huge tree suddenly collapses on the vehicle.įires put this year’s apple crop is at risk in Washington State. And countless trees and branches are now dangers to anyone nearby. In addition to damaged structures and trees at risk of collapse, hundreds of electrical poles have been burned, leaving live wires on roadways or at risk of falling on pedestrians. Physical hazards remain even in areas where the fires are no longer active, the authorities also warned. “It’s not a lot but it is a gesture that, again, we are all in this together.” “We’re confident right now that we have enough personnel and equipment to protect our communities,” he said. Governor Inslee said that Washington State was now in position to help its neighbors, if in a small way, by sharing some of its resources with Oregon. The August Complex fire, which has burned almost 800,000 acres north of Sacramento, was 30 percent contained, and the 220,000-acre North Complex fire, to its east, was 18 percent contained. The growth of the Beachie Creek fire, which has burned more than 190,000 acres east of Salem, Ore., had slowed, and the fire was 20 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. Late Tuesday, emergency officials reported progress on some of the biggest fires around the region.

More than 2.8 million acres have either burned since August 15 or are on fire now, she said. Jay Inslee of Washington State said at a news conference Tuesday.Īs of early Wednesday, there were at least 25 major wildfires and fire complexes, the term given to multiple fires in a single geographic area, burning in California, Christine McMorrow, a Cal Fire information officer, said. “Firefighters themselves, with decades of experience, are telling me that they’ve never seen fires like this before because of the extreme aridity combined with wind,” Gov. Birds can fly out of harm’s way, animals can seek refuge underground, but some wildlife may return to find the old-growth forests they rely on gone.Īnd in California, there was not even temporary relief in sight, with the state fire agency saying Tuesday, “With no significant precipitation in sight, California remains dry and ripe for wildfires.” State leaders, facing not just this wildfire season, spoke about the need to face an indefinite future of fires worsened by climate change. Several endangered and threatened species, including the northern spotted owl and the weasel-like pine marten, depend on the mature mountain forests that bore the brunt of the fires. In Oregon, the fires have largely raged in western pine forests, prompting different concerns. “They took it in and I think it’s going to be OK, but the land - it’s going to take years to come back.” It took the longest time to even figure out what it was,” she said. “One neighbor girl found a porcupine who had all his quills burned off. On the range they found deer and other wildlife staggering around, severely burned. Ranchers in the area were unable to get cattle out of the way and many died. The survivors are left without the critical brush cover they need to raise young.įire is common in central Oregon, but the intensity of the fires this month has not been seen in generations, said Molly Linville, whose family has ranched in Douglas County, Wash., for nearly a century. The fires also destroyed critical breeding grounds for endangered sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse, and officials estimate the fast-moving flames may have wiped out 30 to 70 percent of the birds.

“We have very little sage brush habitat left for them, and it will take decades for this land to recover.”

Fires pacific northwest