Name: Wildfire in Washington, September 1 to 29, 2017
Start: 2017-09-01T00:00
End: 2017-09-29T05:56
Location: Washington

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.

Thirteen fires were ignited by lightning on August 11th, in the vicinity of the William O. Douglas and Norse Peak Wilderness Areas on the Naches Ranger District of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The fires were burning in steep rocky terrain, with difficult access. Two of the fires reached significant size : the Norse Peak Fire (north of State Route (SR410 near Union Creek) and the American Fire (between SR410 and Bumping Lake). These fires were zoned and managed collectively as Norse Peak. Resources were shared between the fires. This fire continued to burn into late September.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 7:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 7:45 PM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
845 PM PDT Thu Aug 31 2017

.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Sunday...Only forecast modification
has been very minor wind forecast changes overnight as winds have
decreased already in many areas. 00z NAM and previous GFS, EC,
and CAN models continue in good agreement in building ridge over
PAC NW this weekend with 500mb height rises around 60m. The
warming in the low and mid levels will push temperatures to near
record setting for early September which will likely impact
travelers and campers for the holiday weekend. Another impact
will be an increase in smoke and haze even away from the fires,
due to the warm temperatures aloft limiting mixing and light
transport winds.

&&

.AVIATION...06z TAFs...VFR conditions expected to continue with
dry and stable airmass. As high pressure ridge builds over area,
winds will be lighter than the past 24 hours at mainly less than
10 kts.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 214 PM PDT Thu Aug 31 2017/

LONG TERM...Sunday night through Thursday...The extended period
will begin with an anomalous upper level ridge over the region.
This will keep conditions hot, dry, hazy and smokey on Monday.
Highs will remain near record levels, reaching 95-102 in the lower
elevations, with upper 80s to lower 90s mountains. By Tuesday,
the upper level ridge axis is forecast to shift east, being
centered over Utah and eastern Nevada. Temperatures will remain
well above average. The return flow around this will begin to
bring some mid/upper level moisture in Central Oregon, from the
south. This moisture is indirectly associated with current
tropical storm Lidia in the Eastern Pacific. Therefore, by Tuesday
the forecast area is expected to have a few more clouds around,
along with a slight chance for a late day t'storm along the East
Slopes of the Oregon Cascades, south of Mt Jefferson. There are
some model differences in how much moisture gets pulled into the
area from the south. The latest GFS would bring more moisture
through our area Wednesday/Thursday, and would therefore indicate
higher chances for showers and t'storms. Meanwhile the latest
ECMWF keeps the subtropical moisture further offshore, and would
have a drier forecast for our CWA. For now, took a blend of the
latest available guidance, but leaned a little toward the GFS
scenario, as it seems to have a better handle on the tropical
moisture and where it may eventually end up. For Wednesday and
Thursday the official forecast now calls for partly cloudy skies,
and a slight chances of thunderstorms over the area mountains.
Both the ECMWF and GFS are in agreement that the upper ridge will
break down next Thursday, and be replaced by a broad trough
heading into the end of next week. Temperatures will see a slight
cooling trend by the end of next week, but still remaining above
average. 77

FIRE WEATHER...Dry, very hot and unstable conditions will work back
into the region as strong ridging builds over the Pacific Northwest.
This combination will result in a Haines Index of 6 across portions
of Central Oregon Saturday/Saturday Night. Will issue a Fire Weather
Watch for Haines 6 and low RH for zones 611 and 640 Saturday
afternoon and evening. Conditions will not be quite as unstable
Sunday as smoke will increase over the area.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  54  93  56  99 /   0   0   0   0
ALW  58  94  60 100 /   0   0   0   0
PSC  52  94  54 101 /   0   0   0   0
YKM  52  94  55 100 /   0   0   0   0
HRI  53  95  53 101 /   0   0   0   0
ELN  50  94  52 100 /   0   0   0   0
RDM  44  95  48 100 /   0   0   0   0
LGD  46  92  47  97 /   0   0   0   0
GCD  49  94  51  99 /   0   0   0   0
DLS  56  97  58 102 /   0   0   0   0

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Fire Weather Watch from Saturday afternoon through Saturday
     evening for ORZ611-640.

WA...None.
&&

79/77/79

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, East Slopes of the Washington Cascades

When: September 1, 12:00 AM PST to September 29, 5:56 AM PST
Where: East Slopes of the Washington Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

Inciweb.

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, September 2017

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 718286.