Wildfires that have plagued western Washington aren’t out, but after a round of rain this weekend the end of this fire season is coming into view. FOX13
George Geissler, the WA DNR’s state forester, told FOX 13 that they’d need a few inches of rain to snuff out some of the larger fires. While they didn’t get that amount of rainfall this weekend, more rain is in the forecast. And while the fires aren’t out, most fires – including the Bolt Creek fire – are expected to be fully contained in the coming weeks.
"We’re coming to the point in the year where a lot of our seasonals need to go back to school," said Geissler. "Our full-time they’ve been going 10-, 12-hours a day for a long time. So, we’re also managing cumulative fatigue." Bailey grew up in Washington, and spent a good chunk of his year here. During the wet Spring he traveled out of state, but in recent months he’s spent more and more time in the Pacific Northwest battling fires in Oregon and Washington.
Bailey spent the last two weeks working the Loch Katrine Fire near North Bend. It started as a small fire that was set when someone failed to put out a campfire. One night, in blew up to a few thousand acres. Bailey still remembers driving in and seeing the smoke column all the way out in Snoqualmie."For a lot of people, especially guys here in North Bend, it’s been a long season. They’re understaffed, and tired.