The 2014 Washington wildfires were a series of 1,480

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

that burned over the course of 2014. The first occurred primarily on the east side of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

in Chelan and Okanogan counties. The fires burned private land, state land, and within the Okanogan and

Wenatchee National Forest Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres (2,711.55 sq mi, or 7,022.89 km²), it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from ...

s, ultimately covering over . The first fire began on July 8 near the

Entiat River The Entiat River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining the Columbia near Entiat, Washington, Entiat. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) lists two variant names for the Entiat River: ''En-ti-at-kwa River'' and ''Entiatqua River''. ...

. On July 14 a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

storm started dozens more fires across the eastern

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

, activating the

Washington National Guard The Washington National Guard is one of the four elements of the State of Washington's Washington Military Department and a component of the National Guard of the United States. It is headquartered at Camp Murray, Washington and is defined by its ...

. More lightning strikes later in the summer started additional fires.

Mills Canyon fire

The Mills Canyon fire burned , all within Chelan County. The fire was located south of the Entiat River and west of U.S. Route 97A and the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

in the

Entiat Mountains The Entiat Mountains, or Entiat Range is a mountain range in the U.S. state of Washington. Located west of the Columbia River, north of the Wenatchee River, and south of the Entiat River, the range is part of the North Cascades section of the Cas ...

. It started on July 8 and the cause is under investigation.

July 14 lightning-strike fires

Satellite image of smoke plumes, July 18, 2014 A number of fires were started by lightning strikes on July 14.

Carlton Complex

The Carlton Complex, covering , began as four separate lightning-caused fires on July 14 in the

Methow River The Methow River ( ) is a tributary of the Columbia River in northern Washington in the United States. The river's watershed drains the eastern North Cascades, with a population of about 5,000 people. The Methow's watershed is characterized by r ...

valley of Okanogan County: the Cougar Flat, French Creek, Gold Hike, and Stokes fires. These fires merged and rapidly spread southeast on July 17, burning approximately 300 homes in and around the towns of

Pateros Pateros, officially the Municipality of Pateros ( tgl, Bayan ng Pateros), is the lone municipality of Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 63,643 people. This municipality is famous for its duck-rai ...

and Malott as well as in more rural areas. The communities of Brewster,

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, and Methow were also threatened by fire. Power was lost to the communities of

Twisp Twisp is a town in Okanogan County in north central Washington, which sits at the confluence of the Twisp and Methow rivers. The population was 938 at the time of the 2000 census and decreased to 919 at the time of the 2010 census. History On ...

and Winthrop. Road closures included State Route 20 east of Twisp towards

Loup Loup Pass Loup Loup Pass (el. 4020 ft./1225 m.) is a mountain pass in the Cascades in the state of Washington. It is located east of the Methow Valley of Okanogan County, between the towns of Twisp and Okanogan on State Route 20. A small ski area ...

, State Route 153 between Twisp and Pateros, and

U.S. Route 97 U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest region. It runs for approximately through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, primarily serving in ...

between Pateros and Brewster. Rain slowed the fire on July 24, allowing crews to reach 60% containment by July 26. A new fire started along State Route 20 south of Winthrop on August 1. The Carlton Complex was the largest wildfire in Washington state's recorded history, surpassing the 1902

Yacolt Burn The Yacolt Burn is the collective name for dozens of fires in Washington state and Oregon occurring between September 8 and September 12, 1902, causing 38 deaths in the Lewis River area, at least nine deaths by fire in Wind River and 18 deaths in ...

. One death, caused by a heart attack, has been blamed on the fire.

Fire fighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typicall ...

efforts included nearly 3,000 personnel and numerous aircraft, including seven

UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ...

helicopters from the Washington National Guard and a

DC-10 Air Tanker The DC-10 Air Tanker is a series of American wide-body jet air tankers, which have been in service as an aerial firefighting unit since 2006. The aircraft, operated by the joint technical venture 10 Tanker Air Carrier, are converted wide body M ...

Chiwaukum Creek fire

Located northwest of Leavenworth in the

Chiwaukum Mountains The Chiwaukum Mountains are a north–south mountain range in central Washington, United States. They stretch from Snowgrass Mountain at , to . The mountains are made of schist, part of the Nason terrane. The original rock in the Nason terrane ...

, this fire burned . It required the closure of

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...

and the evacuation of nearly 900 homes, threatening the communities of

Coles Corner Coles Corner is the name given to the corner of Fargate and Church Street in Sheffield, England in sight of the cathedral. It was the site of the old Cole Brothers department store until it moved to Barker's Pool in 1963. The modern building wa ...

, Winton, and

Plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

. A

pyrocumulus cloud A flammagenitus cloud, also known as a flammagenitus, pyrocumulus cloud, or fire cloud, is a dense Cumulus cloud, cumuliform cloud associated with fire or volcanic eruptions. A flammagenitus is similar dynamically in some ways to a firestorm, a ...

could be seen rising above the fire from as far away as

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Part of the Chiwaukum Creek Fire burned within the northeastern boundary of the

Alpine Lakes Wilderness The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is a large National Wilderness Preservation System, wilderness area spanning the Central Cascades of Washington (state), Washington state in the United States. The wilderness is located in parts of Wenatchee National F ...

Duncan fire

Covering , the Duncan fire was located in the upper Entiat River drainage. It began on a ridge between the Entiat River and the North Fork Entiat River, eventually spreading east across the North Fork.

Kelly Mountain fire

Located in the Entiat Mountains near Tommy Creek, the Kelly Mountain fire burned .

Lone Mountain fire

Located in the Boulder Creek drainage northeast of Stehekin, the Lone Mountain fire burned . It was within the

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is a national recreation area located about south of the Canada–US border in Chelan County, Washington. It encompasses an area of including the northern end of Lake Chelan and the surrounding area of the S ...

, part of the

North Cascades National Park Complex North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...

August 2 lightning-strike fires

*Devil's Elbow Complex – . This complex was made up of four fires on the

Colville Indian Reservation The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the northwest United States, in north central Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is federally recognized. Established in ...

north of

Keller, Washington Keller is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Ferry County, Washington, Ferry County in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2010 United ...

Ferry County Ferry County is a County (United States), county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous ...

. The fires required closing State Route 21. *Hansel fire – . The Hansel fire burned near Ingalls Creek and U.S. Route 97 in Chelan County. *Little Bridge Creek fire – . Located between the

Twisp River The Twisp River is a tributary of the Methow River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is about 26 miles (42 km) long. The name of the river comes from the Okanagan placename xwə́c’p perhaps meaning "wasp" or "yellowjacket". Course The ...

and State Route 20 in Okanogan County. *Shoofly fire – in the upper drainage of the

Little Wenatchee River The Little Wenatchee River is the southern and smaller of the two rivers that flow into the west end of Lake Wenatchee. The northern and larger one is the White River. A large number of place names in the Little Wenatchee River basin, including t ...

in Chelan County. *Snag Canyon fire – . Located north of

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

, the Snag Canyon fire burned six homes. *Upper Falls fire – . This fire burned in the Okanogan National Forest west of the

Chewuch River The Chewuch River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. Its name comes from the word ''/cwáx/'' �wáxin the Columbia-Moses language meaning "creek". The river valley was also the site of the Thirty Mile Fire which killed four fire fighte ...

South Cle Elum Ridge fire

This fire was reported on August 7 on the Wenatchee National Forest southwest of Cle Elum in Kittitas County and burned .