List of Washington wildfires

These are incomplete lists of the major and minor wildfires in Washington state history, along with total costs of the fires for the years, starting in 2002. Wildfires are infrequent on the western side of the Cascade Crest, but a regular component of Eastern Washington ecology.

Background

While the typical "fire season" in Washington varies every year based on weather conditions, most wildfires occur in between July and October. However, hotter, drier conditions can allow wildfires to start outside of these boundaries. Wildfires tend to start at these times of the year after moisture from winter and spring precipitation dries up. Vegetation and overall conditions are the hottest and driest in these periods. The increase of vegetation can make the fires spread easier.

Major Washington wildfires chronologically

This list only includes "major fires" that destroyed over, incurred fatalities or damaged a significant amount of property. Older fires are increasingly underreported. For example, none of the wildfires of 1926–31 and 1943 that together destroyed more than 500,000 acres of the Colville National Forest are included.

2020s

2010s

2000s

1900–1999

Minor Washington wildfires chronologically

List of minor fires, burning over and under with no loss of life or significant numbers of structures.

Year	Fire name	Complex name	County	Start date	Size	Structures lost	Injuries	Notes	Image
2024	Bridge Creek Fire		Ferry	July 19		1	0	Contained August 4
2016	Buck Creek		Chelan	July 22				Lightning caused	-
2015	231 Fire		Stevens		1,138	0	0
Twenty-One Mile Grade fire		Ferry		2,250	0	0			-
2014	Hansel Fire		Chelan		1,016	0	0
Little Bridge Fire		Okanogan	August 2	4,896	0	0			-
Lone Mountain Fire		Chelan	July 14	2,770	0	0			-
2012	Cashmere Fire	Wenatchee Complex	Chelan		2,651	0	0
Highway 141 Fire		Klickitat		1,644	0	0			-
2011	Salmon Fire		Okanogan		1,631	0	0
2010	Highway 8 Fire		Klickitat		2,019	0	0
2009	Discovery Fire		Okanogan		4,120	0	0
Rainbow Bridge Fire		Chelan		3,710	0	0			-
2005	Dirty Face Fire		Chelan		1,150	0	0
2005	Second Hud Fire		Okanogan		4,272	0	0
2005	Weather Station Fire		Grant		4,918	0	0
2004	Mud Lake Fire		Yakima		4,000	0	0
2004	Williams Butte Fire	Williams Butte Complex	Chelan & Okanogan		1,257	0	0
2003	Ahtanum Ridge Fire		Yakima		2,678	0	1
2003	Ayers Gulch Fire		Asotin		1,334	0	0
2003	Black Canyon Fire		Stevens		2,280	1	3
2003	Crystal Creek Fire		Chelan		1,584	0	5
2003	Isabel Fire		Okanogan		4,535	0	0
2003	Maple Fire		Chelan		2,500	0	2
2003	Noca Complex	Noca Complex	Skagit & Whatcom		3,382	0	0
2003	Paddle Fire		Stevens		1,324	0	0
2003	Shooting Range Fire		Benton		2,500	0	0
2003	Square Lake Fire		Chelan		1,097	0	0
2003	Watt Road Fire		Spokane		1,064	7	0
2002	Deer Mountain Fire		Chelan		2,281	0	0
2001	Bailey Mountain Fire	Virginia Lake Complex	Okanogan		3,164	0	0
2001	Goose Lake Fire	Virginia Lake Complex	Okanogan		1,283	0	0
2001	Libby Fire		Okanogan		3,830	0	0
2001	North Coppei Fire		Columbia		4,810	0	0
2001	Union Valley Fire		Chelan		4,700	0	0
1999	Malot Fire		Okanogan		2,808	0	0
1997	Red Lake Fire		Stevens		1,151	5	0
1996	Bowie Road Fire		Spokane		3,020	8	0
1988	Aeneas Creek Fire		Ferry	August 23	2,300			Same area as the Aeneas Creek Fire of 1934

Year-by-year statistics

Wildfire seasons are defined by Washington state law as lasting from April 15 through October 15 of each year, allowing for burn bans and other restrictions to be imposed on state lands by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources during that time. According to a North American Seasonal Fire Assessment and Outlook report issued in June 2019, the summer months represent peak fire season.