The 2012 Washington wildfires were a series of 1,342

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 2012. The fires primarily occurred in 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 during September and October 2012. A severe

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 on September 8 caused hundreds of fires across the east side of

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, ...

. Smoke caused hazardous air quality conditions in the cities 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 ...

and

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

, and was noticeable in

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 ...

. The cost of

fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

the largest four fires was estimated to be $67.5 million.

Taylor Bridge Fire

The first major wildfire in Washington during the 2012 season started on August 13 east of Cle Elum between

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

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 ...

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 fire was fully contained on August 28 after burning acres and destroying 61 homes. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is suspected to be construction work. Canyon Fire part of Wenatchee Complex Fire 2012 8

Canyon Fire part of Wenatchee Complex Fire 2012 8

September 8 lightning-strike fires

*Okanogan Complex – . Three fires in the lower

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, on either side of State Route 153 in

Okanogan County Okanogan County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,104. The county seat is Okanogan, while the largest city is Omak. Its area is the largest in ...

. *Wenatchee Complex – . The largest fires were south 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 ...

near the city of

mainly in Chelan County. Other fires in the complex were in the upper Entiat and

Wenatchee River The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for , emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leave ...

drainages. **Byrd Fire – **Canyon Fire – . Located less than a mile west of the city of Wenatchee in Number 1 and Number 2 canyons. **Cashmere Fire – . Located south of

Icicle Creek Icicle Creek is a nonNavigable stream in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates at Josephine Lake near the crest of the Cascade Range and flows generally east to join the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth. Icicle Creek's drainage basin is mo ...

extending into 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 ...

. **Peavine Canyon Fire – . The Peavine Canyon Fire grew to become contiguous with the Table Mountain Fire to the south. **Poison Canyon Fire – *Table Mountain Fire – . Located east of U.S. Route 97 near

Blewett Pass Blewett Pass (), at an elevation of , is a mountain pass in the Wenatchee Mountains (an eastward extension of the Cascades) of Washington state that is crossed by U.S. Route 97 (US 97). Named for Edward Blewett, a Seattle mining promo ...

in Kittitas County, the Table Mountain Fire threatened homes and historic structures near

Liberty, Washington Liberty is a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Kittitas County, Washington, Kittitas County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Following the discovery of Gold mining, gold in Swauk creek in 1873, Liberty was o ...

. The fire grew to become contiguous with the Peavine Canyon Fire to the north. *Yakima Complex – . Approximately 75 small fires in Kittitas and

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

counties. The Wild Rose Fire was the largest and is located north of

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...

and east of

Rimrock Lake Rimrock Lake is a lake along the course of the Tieton River, in Yakima County, Washington state, US. The lake is used as a storage reservoir for the Yakima Project, an irrigation project run by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. An impoundm ...

. *Cascade Creek Fire – . Located on the south and west slopes of Mount Adams in the

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of 1.32 million acres (5300 km2), it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Ran ...

, including part of the Mount Adams Wilderness. Skamania and Yakima counties.

Other fires

*Goat Fire – . Human-caused fire began on September 16, located south of State Route 153 and west of

in Okanogan County.

References

External links

InciWeb information for Washington state
{{Washington wildfires Wildfires in Washington (state) by year Washington (state) wildfires