The fire started on June 16 by human causes. It was located 12 miles southeast of Omak.
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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.
The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
The fire started on June 16 by human causes. It was located 12 miles southeast of Omak. It was contained on July 1.
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 16, 4:33 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
533 PM PDT Tue Jun 16 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Strong westerly winds will continue through Tuesday evening
with warm, dry, and gusty conditions bringing critical fire
weather conditions. Winds will blow around unsecured objects,
create strong cross winds and possibly result in blowing dust
creating hazardous travel conditions.
- Warm temperatures and remaining dry through the rest of the
work week.
- A passing weather system for the weekend will bring another
round of breezy winds to Central Washington on Saturday.
&&
.SYNOPSIS...
Windy and dry conditions will result in critical fire weather
conditions through Tuesday evening over much of Central and
Eastern Washington. Strong cross winds, patchy bowing dust, and
isolated tree damage will also be possible with winds as well.
Dry and warm conditions will occur Wednesday through Friday
before a weather system over the weekend brings breezy winds to
Central Washington.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
...STRONG DRY COLD FRONT PASSAGE THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...
Tonight through Wednesday: A dry cold front will continue to
lead to critical fire weather conditions through the evening.
In addition a mid level dry slot associated with an upper level
trough passage, combined with a deep mixed layer will allow for
dry air to mix down into the valleys with relative humidity
bottoming out into the teens and low 20s through the early
evening. Strong west winds will persist through the evening as
well due to the persistence of a tight pressure gradient
(Portland to Kalispell was at 15.6 mb at noon) along with mixing
associated with the cold front. Sustained winds ranging from
20-35 mph with gusts of 40-50 MPH across the Columbia Basin has
the potential to kick up patchy blowing dust as well. Confidence
remains low regarding the coverage and degree of visibility
restrictions with any dust that develops. Following the frontal
passage, pressure gradients will gradually ease during the mid
to late evening hours through Wednesday morning resulting in
decreasing winds. Although it will remain locally breezy into
Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday through Tuesday: A dry west- northwest flow remains
over the area Thursday and Friday, before another trough slides
into British Columbia on Saturday. This trough will bring
enhanced winds to Central Washington on Saturday as it enhances
the cross-Cascade pressure gradient leading to breezy conditions
and elevated fire weather conditions. This trough will drop
temperatures slightly over the weekend. After this trough
passes a flat upper ridge moves in for Monday and Tuesday.
Temperatures are forecast to remain above normal over the next
7 days. The warmest days are expected on Friday and Tuesday with
high temperatures in the mid 80s to mid 90s leading to moderate
HeatRisk for the East Slope of the Cascade valleys, Columbia
Basin, and Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. JW
&&
.AVIATION...
00Z TAFs: A strong cold front sweeping through the region
continues to bring westerly winds this evening. A strong
surface gradient is supporting sustained wind speeds of around
25 kts with gusts up to around 40 kts in the lee of the Cascades
and across the Columbia Basin including all TAF sites. Winds
will relax this evening after 04-06Z.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in VFR conditions. There is one large wildfire west of KPUW and
KLWS which may bring brief, localized visibility impacts to
those two sites, but confidence was too low to include in the
TAF.
-----------------------
Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance
For additional probabilistic information for NWS Spokane
airports, please refer to the Aviation Dashboard on our
webpage: https:/www.weather.gov/otx/avndashboard
&&
.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane 54 81 52 84 54 87 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coeur d'Alene 52 79 52 82 55 86 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pullman 50 76 49 81 51 86 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lewiston 57 84 55 88 59 94 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colville 49 81 48 84 50 88 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sandpoint 51 77 49 81 51 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kellogg 51 76 51 80 53 86 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Moses Lake 52 86 53 88 57 93 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wenatchee 58 83 57 87 63 91 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Omak 53 83 55 87 58 90 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Lower Garfield
and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area-Spokane Area-Upper
Columbia Basin-Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-
Wenatchee Area.
Red Flag Warning until 11 PM PDT this evening for Colville
Reservation (Zone 702)-Eastern Columbia Basin -Palouse -
Spokane Area (Zone 708)-Foothills of Central Washington
Cascades (Zone 705)-Lower Palouse -Snake River (Zone
709)-Methow Valley (Zone 704)-Okanogan Valley (Zone 703)-
Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin
(Zone 707).
ID...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Idaho Palouse.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The fire started on JUne 16 by human causes. It burned 11605 acres of dry grass, sagebrush, and timber along the shores of Omak Lake on the Colville Indian Reservation 12 miles southeast of Omak. Damage is estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, June 2026
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: 1353427.