Hot, dry and windy weather is expected to raise wildfire danger in the Kittitas Valley and parts of Yakima County — including West Valley, Selah and Naches — on Monday.
The National Weather Service warning, issued Saturday, said the conditions will “result in the potential for rapid fire spread with any new fire starts.”
The forecast calls for afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s, with low humidity and 15 to 20 mph winds, and gusts of up to 30 mph later in the evening.
Dry grass and sagebrush in valleys are expected to reach critical levels by Monday afternoon, the Weather Service said.
The Fire Weather Watch is in effect through Monday evening, and it covers Ellensburg, Kittitas, Selah, Naches and West Valley.
West Valley fire Chief Dave Leitch said the forecast is a concern.
Last week, his firefighters spent two afternoons dealing with wildland fires that escaped from residents who were burning, he said.
“It’s definitely getting hot and dry. It’s what, June 6, and it’s already 100 degrees,” Leitch said. “Hopefully, people will help us out.”
A spokeswoman for the Central Washington Interagency Communication Center, which serves as the regional wildfire dispatch and is based in Wenatchee, said that the firefighting agencies are now at summer staffing levels. She said lower-elevation fuels are already dry and flammable across Central Washington.
Leitch added that Yakima County officials plan to meet with state and federal firefighting agencies on Wednesday to discuss the drought conditions and high fire danger forecast for the summer season, and what they are going to do to be prepared.
For his fire district, he’s hoping to get more engines that are equipped for brush fires ready and available for initial response.
