June June 2015 was a remarkably hot month for the state of Washington, with average temperatures between above normal conditions, setting new records. By June 23, there had already been 313 wildfires across the state.
Governor's action Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation on June 26, declaring a
state of emergency to exist in all Washington state counties, implementing the
Washington State Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, and ordering deployment of
National Guard and other organized militia for incident-related service assistance, all because of the predicted risk of wildfires in the wake of significantly drier-than-average weather in June. The Commissioner of Public Lands
Peter J. Goldmark, head of the
Washington Department of Natural Resources, issued an updated
burn ban to the one issued June 22, as the earlier ban was superseded by the Governor's proclamation. The Commissioner's prohibition of
campfires in state forests, state parks and state forestlands until September 30, 2015, was issued June 26, 2015.
Sleepy Hollow fire The season began unprecedentedly early with the Sleepy Hollow Fire on June 28, affecting the city of
Wenatchee in
Chelan County, Washington. It burned 2,950 acres, destroying 29 homes and several commercial buildings. The cause of the fire is under investigation but is "likely human-caused". Officials said the fire's unusual intensity was caused by drought and record high temperatures. As a safety precaution, officials banned
Fourth of July fireworks in many parts of the state. A man was arrested in connection with the fire, confessing to starting it with a disposable lighter, but faced no charges due to his mental illness.
July By July 12, over 16,000 acres had burned, including a single fire near
Ephrata, in
Grant County, that had burned at least 10,000 acres. Later in the month, another major fire was triggered by farm equipment near
Walla Walla and burned more than 6,000 acres over two weeks.
August aerial imagery of Washington on August 22, showing the
Puget Sound region covered in smoke from wildfires in
Eastern Washington. plane dropping
fire retardant over the advancing Chelan Butte wildfire (part of the Chelan Complex fire) The extent of wildfires in August 2015 led to the federal declaration of a state of emergency in Washington state by
President Barack Obama on August 21, 2015. By August 24, over 16 active fires had burned more than . On August 29 there was concern that unusually strong southerly winds would cause "significant growth" of the Tunk Block and Lime Belt fires in the Okanogan complex and growth in the Chelan complex fires. The Twisp River and Nine Mile fires were about 95 percent contained.
Chelan Complex Three fires on the south end of
Lake Chelan, near the city of
Chelan, merged into a complex fire and forced the immediate evacuation of over 1,000 residents on August 14. By August 16, the Reach Complex Fire had grown to , while the Wolverine fire burned nearly . According to Rico Smith, a spokesman for the firefighters near Chelan, by August 29 "about 85 homes, businesses and other residences [had] been destroyed by the Chelan complex fires." The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal grants on August 14 for the Nine Mile Fire, one of the five fires that are part of the Okanogan Complex, determining that it constituted a "major disaster". Over 1,300 residents in the towns of
Twisp and
Winthrop were ordered to evacuate because of the approaching Twisp River Fire. By August 24, the fire had grown to , surpassing the
Carlton Complex fire of 2014 to become the largest wildfire complex in Washington state history. before the transfer of the Tunk Block Fire under the
North Star Fire on August 31. ==International assistance==