Carlton complex fire Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington Has Seen A Significant Rise In Wildfire Starts So Far This Year

By Courtney Flatt June 25, 2020

A helicopter uses a bucket to drop water on the Milepost 22 wildfire, Thursday, June 21, 2018, near Vantage, Wash. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/TED S. WARREN

Washington fire managers say they’ve seen a significant number of wildfires in “every corner of the state.” So far this year, the state Department of Natural Resources says it has responded to more than 468 wildfires of varying sizes – nearly double the 10-year average for an entire fire season. But this year’s unprecedented uptick in the number of fires has an unforeseen Read More

Washington Appeals Court Rules Against Carlton Complex Fire Survivors In Suit Against State

By Courtney Flatt March 19, 2020

About 20 homes burned in this Pateros neighborhood, which included the mayor at the time, Libby Harrison, and her mom’s home behind her. The community church behind it survived, but the pastor’s home next door burned. CREDIT: Scott A. Leadingham

The Washington Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed a case against the state brought by more than 300 survivors of the 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire in north-central Washington.Read More

Do Thinning And Prescribed Burns Help? New Study Following 2014 Carlton Complex Fire Says Yes

By Courtney Flatt March 3, 2020

File photo. An area burned in the Carlton Complex fire, as seen in 2019, along Highway 20 near Loup Loup Ski Bowl, east of Twisp, Washington. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

Researchers began their detective work, trying to figure out what happened to these treated areas during the first few extreme days of the Carlton Complex fire. They gathered geospatial maps and satellite images.Read More

Wildfire Lessons Teach Counties How To Communicate With Spanish Speakers In Other Disasters

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa October 17, 2019

Communication is key in emergencies. That’s especially true when the people you’re working to protect don’t speak English. That’s why Washington emergency management offices are working on their language skills — whether for a fire, earthquake or any emergency.Read More

Pateros And North Central Washington Continue Rebuilding 5 Years After Carlton Complex Fire

By Courtney Flatt July 18, 2019

Libby Harrison, who at the time was the mayor of Pateros, and her husband are rebuilding their home, which burned in the 2014 Carlton Complex. They’re doing most of the work themselves and hope to move back in, in a few months. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

Five years later, the Carlton Complex is still the single largest fire in Washington state’s history. By the end of summer, the Okanogan Long Term Recovery Group will have rebuilt 39 homes. The group’s contractors are putting the finishing touches on the final two homes now. They’ve held a ribbon cutting at nearly each spot.Read More

Poll: Northwest Residents Are More Concerned About Wildfires Than 4 Years Ago

By Courtney Flatt May 5, 2019

The Eagle Creek Fire as seen from the Cascade Locks Hatchery. To keep hatchery fall chinook from dying because of the fire, Oregon officials released them early. CREDIT: OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

More people in the Northwest are worried about wildfires than they were four years ago. A new poll has found people in Washington are now five times more likely to say they’ll feel the effects of wildfires. In Oregon, people are three times more likely to worry about wildfires.Read More

Snow Melts, Anxiety Rises: Wildfire Season Is Here

By Ashley Ahearn May 1, 2019

Elise Walker poses for a portrait with her Great Pyrenees, Mina, on Monday, April 22, 2019, at her home on Old Highway 97 in Okanogan. Walker has three scanners in her home playing at all times to monitor fire calls. CREDIT:KUOW PHOTO/MEGAN FARMER

As wildfires become more frequent and intense, the disappearance of snow now ushers in a season of higher anxiety for those who have experienced the destruction of wildfire. And this spring feels particularly ominous, with water levels in ponds and lakes already exposing bathtub rings of pale earth that wouldn’t normally be visible until the end of the dry summer months.Read More

Cinder, Inspirational Bear Damaged And Healed After 2014 Carlton Fire, Found Dead Near Leavenworth

By NWPB News December 13, 2018

After the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire, Cinder spent nearly a year recovering before being released back into the Washington Cascades north of Leavenworth. CREDIT: LAKE TAHOE WILDLIFE CARE

A young black bear that was badly burned in the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire in north-central Washington and later became an international inspiration, has died. Officials with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife say Cinder the bear was killed by a hunter in fall 2017 but have just this year discovered remains and determined it was Cinder. Read More

In Washington’s Methow Valley, Fire Means Danger, Loss, Smoke And Big Job Prospects

By Courtney Flatt September 19, 2018

Wildfire represents both risk and reward for some small communities in Washington. Walking the line between a "good fire" and a "bad fire" can be tricky.Read More

Fighting Wildfire Is Risky. But It’s Become Riskier Than It Needs To Be

By Tony Schick September 11, 2018

A line of wildland firefighters marches through the woods during the Yellowstone fires of 1988. The massive complex of fires, which burned more than 790,000 acres, was a transformative moment in the country's view of wildfire. CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Federal and state agencies have come to realize fires should not be fought at all costs and, in fact, many should not be fought at all. Excluding natural fire led to forests burning in bigger, more destructive ways. Each year, hazardous fuels accumulate faster than we can reduce them through selective logging and burning.Read More

How To Prepare Your Home For Wildfire

By NWPB News August 17, 2018

A burned cabin that was destroyed in Washington’s 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire. Creative Commons licensed by Adam Cohn

The U.S. has more than 46 million homes in this wildfire danger zone and more people moving in right when climate change is making for longer, hotter and drier wildfire seasons. Here are a few steps you can take to protect your home from wildfire.Read More

Four Years After Carlton Complex Devastated Okanogan County, What Have We Learned?

By Ashley Ahearn August 17, 2018

In this July 24, 2014, the remains of structures that were destroyed by wildfires near Pateros, Wash. The Carlton Complex fire was the largest in Washington State history. CREDIT: AP IMAGES/TED S. WARREN

For people living in the “wildland-urban interface,” wildfire risk is the new normal, and the risk is increasing as more people move into places where cul-de-sac meets forest or sagebrush. Read More

Can ‘Moneyball’ Fix How The West Manages Wildfire?

By Tony Schick July 16, 2018

The U.S. Forest Service and others have been saying for decades that we need to allow more wildfire on the landscape. But so far, we haven't practiced what we preach.Read More

Big Wildfire Season And Summer Of Drought Await The Northwest

By Tony Schick June 26, 2018

The Chetco Bar Fire remained relatively quiet for its first month before exploding into Oregon's largest wildfire. Courtesy of Chetco Bar Fire incident command team

Federal officials anticipate a big wildfire season in the Northwest throughout July, August and possibly into September.Read More

It’s Not Just Flame That Makes Wildfire Destructive; Debris Flows Destroy Too

By Max Bartlett February 8, 2018

In January 2018, around 100 homes were destroyed by mudslides in Montecito, California. The same conditions that brought that destruction could exist here in the Northwest – after all, we’ve had the same kinds of wildfires that California saw in December.Read More

What Do Those Wildfire Containment Numbers Mean?

By Max Bartlett July 19, 2014

A fire fighter burns out fuel to create a containment line. Burning fuel that fires could use to spread is one of several methods to create a fire line, including […]Read More