Cliff Mass: ‘Tinderbombs’ diffused by moist conditions

So much for an early start to the Northwest wildfire season.

As of Sunday, there was only one fire burning in North Cascades National Park, University of Washington professor Cliff Mass points out.

“We have been told by several media sources that wildfires would hit hard and early this year,” Mass writes. “Some even said we were in a TINDERBOMB situation.”

What’s an appropriate way to cool off?

Now half way into June, has the start to wildfire season been worse than normal? It doesn’t appear so, according to Mass.

There has been a “huge” amount of lightning, but few fires during the past month. That is because the ground is still moist, including in Eastern Washington. In fact, many areas of Eastern Washington have been wetter than normal over the past 90 days, while west of the Cascades has been dryer.

And this trend could continue.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, areas west of the Cascades are expected to be dryer than normal. Eastern Washington will be about average or slightly wetter; ditto for Central and Eastern Oregon.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be more wildfires in the near future, Mass writes. As temperatures increase and further dry things out, normal or even increased precipitation won’t be able to stop fires. Much of the precipitation in Eastern Washington will be from thunderstorms, according to Mass.